


Almosts Lost to Time

by Wandering_Mind_95



Category: Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, BAMF Harry Potter, Confused Bucky Barnes, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Gen, Genderswap, Hydra (Marvel), Kidnapping, Mild Language, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2018-10-05 20:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 79,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10316117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wandering_Mind_95/pseuds/Wandering_Mind_95
Summary: After the defeat of Voldemort, Rynan Potter retreated from the Wizarding World. She blindsided Parliament as the youngest MP and established a name for herself in the Muggle World. Maybe she should've paid attention to who she was going up against. HYDRA never did like heroes. Though, maybe it was HYDRA who should've paid more attention? How far will she go to save James Barnes? And what will happen if she does?





	1. Bittersweet Forgiveness

 [](https://68.media.tumblr.com/87034e6d652708a3e9fbd797665dfcfc/tumblr_onr4utYAZa1tcwdr2o3_r1_1280.jpg)

After the Battle of Hogwarts on May 2, 1998, the Wizarding World was on the brink of a supernova. It was chaos, the first few days after Voldemort's death; many Death Eater's had escaped before they could be captured, the giants that survived had to be relocated and put under 24 hours surveillance, the Dementors that were loose across the country had to be rounded up and sent back to Azkaban, and the persecution of the werewolves that had sided with Voldemort. The senior Order members only had that night to rest and compose themselves before they started the larger battle of overhauling the Ministry.

They knew it would be difficult and, unsurprisingly, encountered multiple problems and setbacks. The Wizengamot was the first to be overhauled, 1) because a fraction of the members had been killed/died during the war and 2) Voldemort had placed his supporters in positions of power. Kingsley cleaned house as soon as he became acting Minister. Many of the departments had to be temporary suspended so the manpower could go into rebuilding the foundation of the Ministry. Many worried about the power Kingsley was taking; some even went as far as likening him to a new Voldemort, the way he was changing everything without votes, but the Order and the DA threw their support behind him to reform the government. The Daily Prophet was suspended, pending criminal investigations by the Aurors for their part in the promotion of capturing muggleborns. All known Death Eaters were given trials to plead their case but, ultimately, they were all found guilty and sent to Azkaban, which was in the process of becoming Dementor free.

Kingsley relied on his comrades for support, Rynan being the most popular and outspoken of the group. Though she didn't like it, she knew if she threw her support behind Kingsley, the rest of Britain would follow without question. This dissuaded a large section of the opposition. Who would argue against the Woman Who Conquered?

The first week was a complete tornado. The remaining Order members met to outline the major reconstruction zones that Wizarding Britain needed to be able to function as smoothly as possible:

1\. Reform the Wizengamot with elected officials

2\. Sentence and raid known Death Eater homes

3\. Get DMLE up and running again

4\. Send aid to Hogwarts for rebuilding

5\. Track down all muggle-born and halfbloods that were on the run and get them settled

6\. Rebuild Diagon Alley

7\. Goblin Relation (This was something everyone was looking forward to, especially since the Order were known supporters of Rynan and she not only broke in to Gringotts but escaped as well)

8\. Reestablish contact with the Muggle Prime Minister

Agendas 4, 6, and 8 needed to be accomplished before September 1 to ensure their children's schooling wasn't further compromised. All those who missed the previous year were given the option to take summer courses at Beaubaxton free of charge, or they could return to Hogwarts to make up that year. Madam Maxime was actually the one to offer her school for the summer. Many of the muggleborns took up the offer, needing to get out of England indefinitely. They had been scarred beyond imagine and Rynan was sure many would never come back, she wasn't even sure if she would stay herself. Right now she had a purpose, but once that purpose was fulfilled, could she stay?

Kingsley reestablished contact with the Prime Minister and with Rynan at his side, he was able to explain the war and the resolution and reform that has been taking place since the beginning of May. He highlighted all they were doing to get their world up and running again. The PM was actually the one to bring the Queen's attention to Rynan and all that she had sacrificed; the Queen, knowing about the Magical World, summoned Rynan to take part in a special Knighting Ceremony.

Rynan refused; it wasn't something she wanted, it wasn't something she needed. She had too many titles and attention already. She just wanted to get her world and life back in order. The last year had been hard on the trio. Hermione's torture at the hands of Bellatrix still haunted all of them as did Ron's betrayal. While he had come back and they made up, there as still an open, festering wound. And Rynan...she still had to deal with her death and her easy acceptance of it.

·

The Burrow was filled to the brim with Weasley's, a Granger, and a Potter; Molly - and everyone else - was too afraid to have anyone out of sight for more than an hour. Fred's death had shaken the family. Molly clung to her children a little tighter and Arthur's gaze would linger on everyone a little longer. Everyone was looking after George, he wasn't the same anymore, Rynan didn't think he would ever be the same. Fred had been the other half of his soul. She did what she could, that often included sharing a bed to chase away the nightmares. He didn't realize it at first because she would be gone by morning but when he did, he mentioned it to no one. He knew of her and Fred's relationship.

She didn't sleep anymore, something the Weasley's weren't aware of yet, so she wandered the house endlessly at night. When she did sleep, her dreams were filled with screams of death and pain and terror. She couldn't get Hogwarts out of her head. All those deaths, those kids; those were on her. She had led Voldemort right to Hogwarts, she had led him to a school full of children. That was something she knew she would never get over.

It was for this reason that she could never go to Hogwarts again, she didn't deserve to step foot on those grounds, not after the hell she had brought there.

·

It took all summer for Hermione to convince Ron to go back with her for their 7th year. Rynan thought it was a good idea for them, it would help them get closer and work out the things that had been left unsaid. Personally, Rynan thought the two needed a break before entering into the mess that was the ministry. She knew Hermione better than anyone and the second she graduates, she'll be head first into the foray. It was best they, especially Ron, had a buffer to clear their heads before this happened. Ron didn't have to go back to complete his NEWTS, Kingsley having waived the Auror requirements for those in the DA. The only reason he was going back was for Hermione and his mom. They had double teamed him and got him to agree to, at the very least, try going back. The two had tried to pull the same trick on her but Rynan escaped to Andromeda's for the latter part of August until mid-September. She wasn't proud of it, but it was the only way to keep the two away. Teddy kept her mind in the present, something she was thankful for.

September 1st rolled around and Hogwarts was repaired and operating. After talking with McGonagall, Hermione agreed to set up mandatory study periods run by the Eighth Years. The groups were set up to help alleviate the burdens the returning professors would face the coming school year. Not only were they missing the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies professors, McGonagall was operating as the Headmistress, Tranfiguration professor, and the Head of Gryffindor. Hermione, the most qualified outside of Rynan, agreed to run the DADA class like they had the DA meetings in their 5th year. Neville, Ron, and Ginny all agreed to help in running it. There wasn't much they could learn from the class anyway.

It was hard to start the school year missing all the faces that should've been there but weren't. McGonagall read the names of all the students including their age, as tribute, with a moment of silence at the end of the sorting. Their House wasn't mentioned because it didn't matter, they were all students of Hogwarts - there were casualties from all four houses. A great majority of them had been 17 or older but a few, like Colin, were younger and had snuck into the battle. There were over forty names of those who died that had been students. Sixteen of them had been underage, one had been a first year Gryffindor who had gotten separated in the evacuation to Hogshead.

It was the first time anyone had seen the stern McGonagall cry. Her thick Scottish accent growing thicker with emotion with every name that passed her lips. Many of the casualties had been from her house, kids she had nurtured from small 11 year olds into brave adults. Flitwick had to continue when the Gryffindor Head finally hit Fred Weasley's name as she physically couldn't vocalize words anymore. After they got through the students, there was a moment for everyone to give the names of those who had fallen. It was a somber affair but it was also the first step towards healing. The castle was quiet that night, in remembrance but also in budding anticipation. It was Hogwarts and Hogwarts would always inspire the next generation.

·

With Hermione and Ron gone, Rynan retreated from many of her public affairs. Without her friends there to hound her every move, it was easy to accomplish. From September to November, she split her time between Teddy and Godric's Hollow. She hadn't noticed it the first time, but she found an inscription that must've been from Sirius when he first escaped. It didn't make her cry, her tears were all used up, but it made her remember how much he had loved her and she him.

As she walked through her childhood home, she could almost imagine her life had her parents survived. Her mother scolding Sirius and her dad for another prank, Remus bringing home chocolate with every visit. She could even imagine a sibling running around the house with her. It was a good dream but an impossible dream, something she chose not to dwell on.

She walked through the home multiple times, taking off the enchantments outside and replacing them with repelling charms. Boxes lined the walls as she collected everything that remained. It amazed her how much she still didn't, and would never, know about the people who gave their lives for her. She found the rest of the letters between her parents and Sirius that highlighted the mundane life they were forced to live. She felt horrible when she finally learned Sirius's birthday. All these years, she had never thought to ask. He had lost everything two days before his 22nd birthday.

Azkaban gained a deeper level of hatred from her; the torture her godfather must've gone through those first few days. He never did tell her if he went into the house that night, but Rynan had a feeling there was a lot he didn't tell her about that night. From her venture into Voldemort's mind as he was remembering their deaths, she knew exactly where and how her father had died, standing without a wand to give his family some semblance of time. She knew exactly where her mother had begged for her only daughter's life and was mercilessly cut down.

It wasn't often but it crossed her mind a handful of times: she should've died in that clearing. It would've been better than the life she was living now.

·

Molly was hysterical; between George and Rynan, she didn't know what to do. They were shells of their former selves and she just wanted to see them smile and laugh again. They had been the most spirited of teenagers. Arthur told her to give them time, that wounds like that didn't just heal overnight.

Kingsley knew and saw the effect the war was having on Rynan, which was why he called on her as often as he could. He didn't want her dwelling on those thoughts and hopefully doing something productive would provide a focus for her troubled mind, let her see a bright future for herself. That was how she found herself working with veterans and Aurors in the Wizarding World. Kingsley had set up a department to help those effected physically and psychologically in the last two wars. Through them, she heard the same narrative replayed over and over and came to a conclusion: she didn't want to be part of that narrative.

It was the shove she needed. She sat for her A-levels in December and worked with the new Aurors, teaching them all she had learned in her perils. She refused the offer to join every time Kingsley called her in. That life was behind her for now. She had a godson to think about. She wasn't going to let Teddy down. If she had to force herself to be happy and there for a few hours a day, than that was what she would do. Her godson came before anything, including her happiness and guilt. She would make sure he never wanted for anything and knew he was loved, always. Between her and Andromeda, Edward Remus Lupin would be the most protected child in the world and he would never want for anything, especially love.

The highlight of those depressing months had been her first visit to Gringotts since breaking in. Those little bastards couldn't do anything to her and they knew it. They (Griphook) had broken their word to her and that meant everything to the young Potter. In in her eyes, they had chosen their side with that betrayal. The state of that dragon also didn't help matters. She often wondered about him and asked Charlie to be on the lookout as he had been badly injured and in need of care. The dragonologist promised to have some people go out and look for him but he warned her there was a chance the dragon had died of his injuries.

Christmas that year was a relief for everyone. It was the one thing that remained relatively normal. Andromeda was invited to the Burrow, where she brought Teddy for his first Christmas. Everyone was under the same roof for the first time in four months. It was a joyous affair that saw laughter, pranks, cheer, and overwhelming warmth radiating through every witch and wizard.

By March she was just beginning to make a name for herself outside of the witch who killed Voldemort. She was capturing Death Eaters left and right (not an Auror though), whipping the trainees into shape, and advocating new laws for mental health for those affected by the wars. She had enough confidence in herself that she finally made the decision to visit Hogwarts for the first time since May 2.

·

The grounds were like new. It would be hard to prove a battle ever took place here. But for her, who knew these grounds like the back of her hand, she saw the damage where others couldn't. The familiar path to the Entrance Hall crossed her mind -not yet- she told herself. She had to see what else had changed. Hagrid's hut was fixed but she could still make out the burn marks on the stone work. The Whomping Willow had a dent near its middle, evidence of a powerful curse making contact. The Quidditch Pitch was amazingly completely rebuilt. She longed to ride her Firebolt through the air, the cheers of the students echoing around her. The Wooden Bridge and the connected courtyard were also brand new, the hundreds of years of wear absent from their foundations. The bridge made of new, freshly cut wood and the stone in the courtyard having noticeable dents, cracks and scorch marks. She wondered how long it took to remove the blood stains. 

Rynan finally decided she couldn't put if off any more. Dinner was due to end soon. She walked the path to the Entrance Hall, gathering her courage as she took step after step, nerves hitting her like a hippogriff.

Silence permeated the Great Hall as the doors opened to reveal Rynan Potter.

No one moved.

No on spoke.

Until the most unlikely person made the first move.

McGonagall move from the Head Table, bringing the girl into a tight embrace. She hadn't seen the last Potter since the end of the war. She worried about her and no amount of reassurance from her friends could quell that. She saw the looks in Weasley and Granger's eyes. They were worried about their friend more than she was.

To see her, standing awkwardly outside the Great Hall brought everything crashing down. She was a far cry from the small bespectacled girl who nervously climbed up the stairs to be sorted. She was a far cry from the brave teenager who took on the Ministry and school at 15. But McGonagall would always see these people in her, no matter how much she changed. She, like her father, held a special place in her heart.

Rynan melted into the hug as the hall around them burst into applause. They knew what happened, what she had sacrificed. She, like all of them, was finally home - even if it felt different.

"It's good tae see ye Potter. Managing tae stay outta trouble Ah see." Her Scottish accent was thick with emotion. "Schooling is gettin done without all yer adventures and mischief."

Rynan's eyes shown with hurt as she tried to smile but it came out more as a grimace. "I'm trying." It came out more like a plea than a statement.

Neville was the first student to move. He closed the distance between them with little effort as he pulled her into his arms. She was able to sink into his embrace. He felt safe, familiar. Her year mates who had returned began to crowd around her as the rest of the school looked on. This was the generation, the year, which had lost so much. They had lost over half their members in the battle, they had spent the previous year viciously defending the younger students, they had scars that would never heal. This, this was what they needed.

"God, I never thought I'd be happy to see your face Ernie." This drew laughs from everyone who knew the history between the two.

"I'll remember that Potter."

"Rynan?" A small voice asked, unsure of itself, a far cry from what Rynan was used to hearing from the owner.

The group parted so Rynan could see the speaker. It was Dennis Creevey, nothing like the boy Rynan remember from her Sixth Year. Just looking at him brought up the memories of Wood carrying Colin's body to the Great Hall. Her tears were all spent but she could feel her eyes becoming glassy as she looked at the now 15 year old who had lost his whole life.

"I'm so sorry I didn't stay Dennis. I didn't want to cause your family anymore pain." She was talking about the last time she had seen him, at Colin's funeral. She left immediately after the service.

"We understood. Dad just wanted to thank you for everything you did for him. I know we weren't the easiest to be around in the beginning but you were Colin's hero. I just wanted you to know that no one blames you."

For some reason, it was that, that little sentence that Rynan needed to hear: No one blamed her for what happened.

She had shouldered the guilt all these months. She had been the one to come back to Hogwarts, she had led Voldemort to them, she didn't give herself up to stop the fighting. To hear those four words, she cried for the first time in months, if not a year. Everything came out and the harder she tried to stop, the harder she cried. Hermione and Ron were quick to conceal her in their embrace, guilt eating at them for not noticing her suffering over that.

"It's okay Rynan, your nargle infestation isn't as bad as the last time I saw you." Luna's dreamy voice made its way through the crowd. "I suspect you've discovered a repellent. You'll have to tell me when you have the chance."

This brought chuckles from everyone as Luna had been going around all year telling everyone this.

Rynan pulled herself away from her friends, ashamed that she had lost control of her emotions like that. She knew it would be difficult to return, she just wasn't expecting it to be this hard. With her back straight and she shoulders square she walked to the front of the hall where Dumbledore had always made his speeches.

She looked around, taking in all the new faces, all the old faces, and all the faces that were missing. "I've never been good at speaking like this, some of you know this from our first DA meeting, but I want to tell you that we have made a difference. Everyone we lost, their dreams are starting to come true. I've been working with the Ministry over the past few months and we've started from scratch. The system is still new and fragile but we are working the best we can so you guys don't have to worry about this ever again. It may be too late for my year mates and me but it's not too late for you to still have a childhood." She looked from table to table, making sure it was clear she was talking to everyone. "If I have one wish for you, it's this: love each other, make new friends, play with the giant squid, stay up late talking about the latest Weird Sister's gossip, go crazy about the Quidditch Cup, sneak up to the Astronomy Tower for some quiet, and create a little mischief. I want you to be kids."

Applause broke out around the hall as students and teachers alike climbed to their feet to show her their support. She waited for it to die down so she could speak again.

"Regardless of your house or your blood status, you are students of Hogwarts first. Ravenclaw's can be loyal, Hufflepuff's can be cunning, Gryffindor's can be smart, and Slytherin's can be brave. Your house only defines you as much as you let it. The Sorting Hat once warned that the houses would need to unite or risk falling apart. We ignored his warning the first time so I ask you not to make our mistake. I'll leave you with something my godfather once told me: We've all got light and darkness inside us. What matters is the part we chose to act on."

She stepped down as the applause echoed across the hall, this time from everyone and every house. She looked towards the Slytherin table and received nods from the only two 'Eighth' Years who had returned: Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini. It was a step in the right direction.

"Professor, I was wondering if I might be able to use your office for a bit." Rynan left out her purpose but McGonagall could guess why she needed it.

Rynan had one more thing she needed to do for closure.

·

"I know what you did and even though I don't agree with it, I'm here to say I forgive you."

"After all these years, my dear, you still manage to surprise me with your ability to forgive and love. It is still your greatest strength." Dumbledore beamed from his portrait. Rynan scowled at the man, she hated that he had kept the truth from her but she did understand why he did what he did. He was only human after all.

She turned her attention to the next portrait, who was doing nothing more than scowling at her in contempt.

"Are you to confess your forgiveness to me as well, Potter? Has my death lingered in your conscious, another person the Chosen One couldn't save? Or have you come to gloat at your victory?" His dark eyes studied her, so different to the look he gave her at his death. A look full of fear, regret and acceptance, something she still had trouble processing.

Her eyes narrowed at him, hate shining through. "You were – still are – a pathetic, shallow man who couldn't get over the past." She hissed out, venom lacing every word. "My mum didn't choose you and you spent the rest of your life taking it out on everyone else. You blamed everyone for your suffering but yourself. You were cruel and bitter and spiteful and everyone hated you. But you took hate and resentment over admiration and acknowledgement. You were one of the bravest person I've ever known." Gathering her breath, this next part almost physically hurt her to admit. "I forgive you but I will never forget the suffering you caused."

The surrounding portraits chuckled awkwardly at the last part, having witnessed the relationship develop over the years as the two complained of the other to the headmaster. Rynan's forgiveness was something they never thought they would hear but her disdain for the former Potion's master was still evident.

Snape's portrait developed his common sneer, disgust lacing his words. "A bumbling first year would likely make a better speech than you Potter. And if you are quite done throwing insults, I shall enlighten you," even his portrait was able to slowly drawl his sentences, giving the impression that she was a dudderhead he always claimed her to be. "None of what I did was ever for you; I made a vow to protect Lily, you were nothing more than an arrogant rag that shared her blood. More like your swine father than you ever were her. A disappointment."

Albus made to interrupt, having hoped the two could move past their differences by now, "Now Severus-"

"Charming, you greasy haired git. If I could be half the person my dad was, I would still be a twice the person you were. He faced death for my mum, the woman he loved. He willingly gave up his life to give us a chance. Something that never even crossed your mind. You begged and sniveled for her life, not giving one thought to the family she loved. I know it was you who told Voldemort the prophecy; you're the reason they're dead." She didn't see the resigned look on Dumbledore's face, she was only focused on Snape. "I've said what was needed and I've settled my debt to you. I'm moving on, something you never did." She didn't wait for his acknowledgement as she strode away, the door closing forcefully behind her. That would be the last time she ever set foot in that office, if she had any say in it.

She felt lighter. Between the liberation of her guilt earlier and settling her debts with the two former headmasters, she was ready to start a new leaflet.

When she left Hogwarts, it was a bittersweet feeling. She didn't know if she would ever come back here but for once, it didn't bother her. She had her whole future to look forward to.

·

Rynan never knew when to hold her tongue. It was one of the reason she had so many detentions in school (In her defense, Snape also held the record for giving out those detentions). That was how she acquired the tremendous influence she had so swiftly. People didn't like politicians who used slippery words and padded their own pocket with false promises.

At the age of 21, she was the youngest member of the House of Commons, her official title being Member of Parliament Dame Rynan Lily Potter. The Queen had knighted her after the war with Voldemort for 'unmatched service to her country'. She was using her own money to set up programs for veterans and orphans, creating awareness of the hardship and obstacles they face adjusting to society. This endeared her to the people and proved to be the foundation of her support. She knew, with her upbringing, she was more than qualified to implement such programs but she never let her past become public. She never went looking for the Dursely's again, though she did check up on Dudley to make sure he had really turned over a new leaf, and they never came looking for her. She could just imagine the faces at Privet Drive when it was announced she had been elected into Parliament. All those years of whispering behind her back, hurrying their children away, whore and skank becoming common adjectives used to describe her in her teenage years. But she was a million miles from them now and their opinions didn't matter, they never did.

She moved into her London flat when she was 21 and took full custody of Teddy. Andromeda just couldn't take care of him 24/7. Teddy was three and growing leaps and bounds. She took him anywhere and everywhere possible because she never wanted him to feel like he was abandoned, like he was second priority. Her time was split between the two worlds. She was using her influence and knowledge she gained to try and better both societies. It passed her mind a few times that the Dursley's must be going mental knowing she was both powerful and influential and that the country could see her as she was and not how they painted her to be.

Thanks to her ancestors, she didn't have to work. The money from her grandfather was still coming in but she refused to touch it. She didn't want to live off the success of others. She wanted to make her own way with everything, including money. But if she could put the money to good use, she would. 

The people loved Rynan, her blunt personality, her obvious wealth, her tenderness with children, and her generous, down-to-earth nature. While she did have a massive wealth, she donated and invested it into the country. She set up schools and programs, counseling for abused children, programs for war veterans, and she was raising her godson all by herself! She was the people's politician. She was likened to Princess Diana which Rynan thought was going a little too far. She had the means to make a difference; if more people had the same opportunities as her, she imagined they would do the same.

In Parliament, she spoke up against the undue hardships people faced because of certain laws, she advocated a more involved United Kingdom in European affairs. She had seen the effects caused by the Ministry of Magic isolating itself from the rest of Europe. She didn't gain many supporters in the House of Commons or Lords, especially from the old guard set in their ways. She did have her fair share of supporters though, enough to have a substantial influence. She knew there were whispers of giving her a foreign affairs position or even a place in the UN but she didn't want that. She just wanted to make a better world for her godson. After graduation, Ron and Hermione had took over things in the Ministry of Magic so she could deal with the Muggle world. She had become close with the Minister as he knew exactly who she was; despite the mutual respect, they were often clashing heads on certain issues, especially those that involved the Ministry of Magic.

After a few years, she found herself in the Ministry of Defense with her support behind expanding the Veterans Agency. It was in part, due to her efforts, that in 2007, the group merged with AFPAA to create a single point of contact for veterans. Her efforts led to the creation of the Defense Business Services with a pillar, Veterans UK, in 2011.

Her goal in all of this stemmed from her desire all those years ago: she didn't want to be part of the same narrative, repeating over and over.

·

Hermione loved what Rynan was doing, knowing she was making a big difference. Ron and her were doing their best on the other side, her in the Wizengamot and Ron in Law Enforcement. Things were different. The students who made up the DA had joined the Ministry after the war and together they were making sure all their friend's and loved one's deaths were not in vain. Creature laws were abolished and Hermione got programs in place for people like Remus. The only trouble they had were with the Goblins but that was due in part to the grudge they still held about the break in. Ron was one of the top Aurors, supervising the trainees and heading missions to capture those who ran at the end of the war. They needed justice and closure.

Hermione did worry that they were changing things too fast and that people would retaliate. There were still those who supported the old system with old money and power. They still remembered those tentative months were Minister Shacklebolt had complete control, pushing through legislative and decrees with no prior approval. It slowed down once the Ministry had been cleared and Shacklebot official elected into positioin but people still held resentment over the display of power between the Minister and Rynan. 

·

It was in 2002, four years after the Final Battle that secrets finally came to light. It came, in part, because Rynan was reminded on her 22nd birthday that she was now older than her parents had ever been. They hadn't gotten to live life together, as a proper family. She had believed for years that she would never live to 21; she would die young just like her parents. It was surreal to be celebrating her 22nd birthday with her history. No one really understood, could understand, what she was going through. They had their parents, death hadn't followed them like it had her.

Hermione was nagging Rynan to talk about her experience to someone if she wouldn't tell them. She was getting a max of three hours of sleep each night. Hermione had known Rynan for eleven years, she couldn't keep anything from the bushy haired genius.

The nagging and pushing finally became too much and she just blurted it out.

"I died Hermione! The spells didn't backfire, I didn't even raise my wand, okay. I closed my eyes and let it happen."

Hermione gasped, horrified into silence at this admission. She and Ron had always thought their friend had played dead due to the backfiring of spells, like what had happened every time the two enemies had faced that year. They had been devastated when they saw her dead body, that she hadn't said goodbye.

"But - that's not possible. You can't bring someone back from the dead." She was trying to rationalize, something she did when flustered.

Rynan turned away, it was hard to relive this moment. She had been so unnaturally calm when she talked with Dumbledore at Kings Cross but Voldemort's soul haunted her nightmares. She had lived seventeen years with that in her body. She felt disgusted with herself when, after the battle, she felt hallow, like she was missing a piece of herself.

"I had two souls in my body. I had the chance to go, move on; Voldemort didn't have that option. His soul fragment is stuck in limbo – Merlin, Hermione! It was the most hideous creature I have ever seen…and I felt pity for it! I felt pity for the soul that killed my parents!"

Hermione pulled her friend into her embrace. "I remember Dumbledore saying once that your greatest strength isn't the number of spells you can master but the ability to connect to those around you. You are the strongest person I know because you are able to see the good in others when no one else ever could. You've seen the worst of humanity and yet you are doing all of this!" She indicated to the paperwork surrounding them.

"I learned that from you, you know?" Rynan chuckled at Hermione's confused look. Of course she wouldn't remember. "At the sorting, I knew you heard Ron's comment and again that Halloween. I never said anything to stand up for you but you trusted me to save you from the troll. I didn't deserve that. There were multiple times throughout the years where you should've left me, us, but you always stayed. I wanted to be like you. You gave me a second chance and I couldn't let someone fall through because I didn't give them a chance like you gave me."

Hermione sat there in stunned silence. She had never realized she had had that big of an impact of the last Potter. If anything, she believed it to be the other way around. Rynan made her brave, made her believe in her abilities.

"I just sit and think, what if he had been given a second chance? What if someone had taken a chance with him before it was too late? What if you and Ron hadn't taken a chance with me? Could I have ended up like him?"

A glaze sheered over her eyes as her thoughts turned to her nightmares. The creature at Kings Cross wasn't Voldemort anymore, it was a grotesque version of her. It was her, following the same path as Voldemort. She still had that hidden fear from her second year when Diary Tom pointed out their similarities. It stayed tucked away in the back of her mind. Consciously, she knew she was nothing like him but subconsciously, her mind created vivid illustrations highlighting the similarities.

She wondered if she would ever be free of her nightmares or if they would follow her to her grave.

·


	2. Forbidden Memories

Rynan was bound to ruffle a few feathers with her storming of the old guard but she was prepared. What could these people throw at her that could possibility be worse than Voldemort? She clearly didn't know about HYDRA.

It wasn't so much forbidden as it was impossible, for the Asset to question orders; he was nothing but a tool, a weapon, to be wielded as his handlers deemed. He had been conditioned throughout the decades to complete the mission; he needed no other information other than the target and how it needed to look. He was never given a chance to step out of line. Once his mission was completed, he was prepped and put back on ice. When a new mission came up, he would be taken off ice and prepped again. It was always the same.

So when he received his orders to assassinate Rynan Potter and make it look like a foreign attack, he didn't flinch at the young face that stared at him from the folder: he had killed far younger targets. He was given 48 hours to complete the mission.

He was provided with her daily schedule and home address. She didn't keep to a fixed schedule so he needed to trail her to find an opening. She was too exposed to take her out in the daylight; too many cameras could catch him. While he didn't doubt his ability to remain concealed from the CCTV cameras, his handlers had wanted the authorities to believe it was a foreign agency that had carried out the attack. There were few countries that would carry out an assassination in broad daylight nowadays. That left her home. He canvased her home, finding the back to have the best vantage to complete his mission; he set himself up on the roof of the neighboring house almost a 400 yards away. The back of the home was almost all windows, giving him a clear target. The kitchen and family room were clearly displayed in his scope as he watched her pull into the driveway.

She was drifting in and out of the kitchen, not giving him ample time to lock on for a kill shot. A little boy also made his way around the sitting room. He hadn't been in the file.

The Asset had been set up for almost four hours when he was finally given his window. The target had just put the child down and was making her way to the kitchen. His handlers had said to make it look like a foreign attack, he would need to do some work after he took her out. With the kid asleep, it would cause less problems when he killed him.

His sniper was ready and aimed as she finally stood still, waiting for her water to boil.

Rynan felt something was wrong. After fighting in a war and having a Dark Lord like Voldemort after her for 17 years, she had developed a sense of when her life was in danger. She activated her wards and prepared for a fight wondering if a rouge Death Eater was trying to take revenge.

The shot shattered the entire glass wall but disintegrated upon impacting her wards.

She waited for the next shot or someone to come out but nothing happened. She was getting paranoid, her hand reaching for her cellphone. She had Hermione on speed dial should the situation escalate.

The Winter Soldier wasn't fazed by what happened, he just had to readjust his strategy. Did he risk firing another shot or did he go with the element of surprise? He saw her hand reaching for the phone and his second shot smashed it to pieces perfectly. He was off the roof once his shot was taken, sprinting as fast as he could, not making a sound. Rynan was looking at the shattered phone, wondering what the hell was happening when the wards smashed to pieces. She barely had time to dodge the knife that came at her head before shots were fired. She had yet to even get a look at her attacker!

One grazed her right thigh as she dropped to the floor. She had enough time to look up and see her attacker before his hand was around her throat, squeezing the life out of her. She felt the pressure building up behind her eyes, her feet kicking out in a desperate attempt to get him off her. It was her magic that finally flared, sending him across the room.

Rynan rolled to her side, gasping for air her lungs desperately demanded: she flashed back to First Year and Quirrell. She didn't have much time as her attacker was quick to recover and was drawing his SIG. It was desperation that made Rynan flail her hand, bringing up a weak protego that was able to stop the bullets. Her magic didn't deter him as he swaggered over to her as she pushed herself to move. His metal arm glistened in the light of her sitting room; it was that arm that almost chocked the life out of her. She could see that it was a metal prosthesis, well beyond anything she had ever encountered.

She was fairly positive now that this wasn't a Death Eater attack. She didn't know what kind of attack this was!

He was feet from her when she blasted a stunner at his chest. It was too quick for him to dodge so he moved the left arm to block it. It must be a reflex, she thought, but it didn't matter. If the arm was connected to him, the spell would work. Rynan let out a sigh of relief when he went down.

She took away his gun and other weapons but she couldn't get his eyes out of her head. She had never seen eyes so dark, so empty before. Nothing surprised him, nothing hurt him, it was like he was on autopilot and someone else was controlling his body.

It was with a heavy sigh, Rynan broke one of her rules: Never use legilimency on someone without their permission.

This was an exception, she reasoned. She knew these kinds of soldiers, soldiers who would never break. Thankfully, she had more control than what Snape showed on her. What she saw, it didn't sit well with her.

"Who are you?" She asked, though she knew she wouldn't get an answer from the stunned man. She grabbed her hair in frustration as she began to pace around the room. There was literally nothing she could read from him. His surface thoughts were composed of nothing but his mission: killing her. There should be more to it, there should be emotions, thoughts, memories! Something!

She had never encountered something like this before and it immediately took her back to the war.

Rynan made up her mind: she had to call Hermione. Thankfully the landline was working, she thought, as she waited for her friend to pick up.

"Ry." A small voice called out. Rynan froze where she stood with the phone. He was supposed to be sleeping, he couldn't be down here! "I heard loud noises."

Teddy walked around the corner from the staircase, sleepy eyes and blanket clutched tightly to his chest. Rynan abandoned the phone as she rushed to her godson's side. While the stunner should work for at least half an hour, it wasn't a chance she was willing to take, not when it was Teddy's life.

Right as she reached him, it was like the world stopped.

The effects of the stunner wore off in a third of the normal time, his enhancements saw to that. The Asset's metal arm broke through the bindings painfully easily and his SIG was quickly reacquired and aimed at his target. He wasn't taking any chances, his finger was on the trigger and he was firing as soon as he was on his feet.

The child, who saw the movement before his guardian, pushed her away. His actions prevented the shot from going through her heart, hitting her shoulder instead.

The kid's actions caused a quick flashback in the soldier's mind to a similar kid with blond hair and bruises on his face.

His second hesitation allowed Rynan to dodge the next shot and, recovering from the shock of being shot, Rynan blasted her strongest Confundus at the assailant before she forced Teddy back up the stairs. Using the blood from her shoulder wound, Rynan quickly activated the wards that would hide the second floor: no one could get in or out.

It was like someone had pressed the rewind button in his mind. The Winter Soldier began to see fragments of previous missions, missions he had no recollection of. But there was always one constant, pain. Always excruciating pain. It was blinding him, pushing his nerves to the extreme as he held back his screams. Pain didn't matter, pain was momentary, the mission was his priority. The mission came before everything. He was the Fist of HYDRA, he was created to only follow orders.

Before she could make a move, she was blindsided by his sudden attack. He recovered faster than she thought he would. The metal arm she had been admiring minutes earlier was now squeezing the life out of her. Her back slamming against the wall took what little breath remained. They were once again back where they started, except this time, Rynan could sense the turmoil in her opponent; she could feel his mind reaching, screaming out for more information.

Her face was a violent shade of red, her eyes bulging as her carotid artery was compressed beyond safety levels. She could feel the pressure building up as she felt her airway being crushed. If she didn't move his hand in the next few seconds, she would pass out and then she was as good as dead.

Rynan's arms flared at her sides trying to find her wand as she was lifted higher and higher off the ground. She just had to put her wand in her boot!

She felt his grip tighten. Searching his eyes desperately, she tried to find any type of emotion she could appeal to. There was none, his face was blank.

"Ja-mes" She managed to crock out. "Your name." It could barely be heard but with how close he was, he made out the words. There was a flicker in his eyes, she saw it as darkness began to creep into her vision.

Taking her last chance, Rynan concentrated her magic into his metal arm. If it ran on circuits, she could use her magic to fry the circuit boards.

It worked as his arm seized and his grip loosened as he struggled to regain control of it.

She dropped to the ground, gasping for breath, her lungs demanding more oxygen than she could take in.

A snarl reminded her of the danger she was currently in. It seemed his other arm was just as operational as his now useless metal one. She barely dodged the knife that had appeared in his hand. If anything, he seemed more dangerous now. She had no advantage on him; for being so large, he moved fluidly and quickly. Where her height and agility would've given her an advantage, they were canceled out as this man was clearly better trained and hadn't been taking care of a child for six years.

There was barely a few feet between the two of them when Rynan gave in to her desperation and shouted (croaked), "Leglimency!"

Normally she was against someone doing this but it was a special circumstance. She tore through his mind, looking for those memories she saw before. If she could retrieve those from his chaotic mind, she knew she had a better chance of surviving.

Memory after memory passed before her, she saw him in uniform, saw him strapped to a table, and she saw him dancing. In the final memory, she saw him find Steve barely breathing. She could feel his panic before she was thrust out of his mind.

"Steve." It was a broken whisper, like he recognized the man but was unaware of how.

His arm blindsided her, the force of it knocking her out. By the time she came to, James was gone and Hermione and Ron were crowded around her. She guessed it counted in her favor that she was still alive. She must've triggered his memories. She only hoped it helped him and not made him crazy.

"Rynan! Oh, you had us so worried." Hermione cried when she finally focused on where she was. She had forgotten she left Hermione waiting on the phone when she went to get Teddy.

Ron was searching the house, looking for any sign of the assailant.

Pain radiated throughout her entire body when she tried to sit up. She had forgotten about the bullet in her shoulder and the wound on her thigh, not to mention she could barely move her neck. Hermione was already putting balm on it to help reduce the swelling. "What happened? I picked up and all I heard was a gunshot?"

Hermione was focused on stopping the bleeding from her shoulder as she grilled Rynan.

"She can't talk, Hermione." Ron interjected before his wife could ask any more questions. His sweep had brought up nothing. Whoever had attacked Rynan was long gone. "She'll need to go to St. Mungos. The swelling is beyond what you can treat and that wound needs looked at."

Rynan tried to move her head but the pain was too much, tears sprung to her eyes. There was no way she could apparate to St. Mungos without further injuring herself. Hermione was of similar thought. "We can't take her to St. Mungos."

Hermione pulled out her cell phone to dial 999 to call for an ambulance.

While Hermione called for an ambulance, Ron went to the wall to take down the ward. The three of them had come up with the design in case of an emergency so only the three of them knew how to take it down. As the staircase reappeared, Teddy came barreling out, tears staining his cheeks and he cried for Rynan. He grabbed him before he could unintentionally harm his godmother. The kid put up a fight until he realized who had him and then he collapsed into Ron's arms.

Ron wasn't a stranger to crying kids but he was still awkward comforting them. Hermione came over to see if Teddy was hurt, giving him comforting words as he clung to her husband.

"The ambulance should be here in 10 minutes." Ron took that as his cue to go to Rynan. He could tell she had to be in some real pain if tears were falling. He really wished they had covered more extensive healing in Auror training instead of having one Healer on the team. Looking at her throat, he could already see bruises forming. From the marks he could tell the person used one hand and that in itself told him the assailant was strong.

Sirens broke the tense silence that had settled over the house. Hermione passed Teddy to Ron so she could go talk to the EMT's and explain the situation. Rynan knew she had to stay still, the pain was a good encouragement, but she hated being seen as weak.

The team arrived into the sitting room with a stretcher and a neck brace. They would work on the gunshot wound once they had her neck stabilized.

The trip in the ambulance was not something Rynan wanted to repeat anytime soon. She didn't know if it was because of the unfamiliar people, the blood loss, or the shrill sirens that pounded through her head. Either way, she was glad when they finally pulled into the emergency room.

They were able to stop the bleeding and remove the bullet without having to take her into surgery but they wanted to do a CT scan to make sure there were no fractures. Somehow, nothing was fractured or broken, just severe swelling.

She was admitted to make sure the doctors didn't overlook any symptoms. They wanted to admit her for at least 36 hours.

·

It was a rough few days as she waited for the swelling to go down around her throat. She couldn't speak, she was on a liquid diet, and her body ached. Thankfully, the doctors discharged her when she promised to followed up in a week with her primary physician. Unfortunately, she had to go through all the paperwork with the police department to document her injuries and try to identify her attacker. Since she was a MP, they were treating this case very delicately, word had already gotten out about the attack and speculation was running rampant among the masses. She told them that she couldn't see his face, it was covered by a mask, and he didn't speak so she couldn't identify him by his accent. She did tell them that he was large, a little under two meters, and that he most likely had military training as he handled his weapons with perfect ease.

She didn't reveal anything else because she wanted to look more into this man. Clearly, he wasn't the one who ordered the attack which meant the culprit was still out there.

She didn't return home, forensics still combining through it under the watchful eye of Ron, and reporters hanging around, wanting to get an interview with her. Instead, she crashed at Ron and Hermione's place in Kent. There, she was able to have Madame Pomphey floo over and treat her injuries. The potions reduced the swelling by about 95% and completely healed the wounds on her shoulder and thigh. Sadly, she would have to keep using bruise balm for her throat.

Rynan spent her time combing over who would want her dead and who had to ability to brainwash someone. The list wasn't very long or reliable. She went over everything that happened with her two friends. They were as lost as she was. Ron promised he would kill the man, regardless if he was brainwashed or not. He had become fiercely protective of his two girls since the end of the war, not that he would tell them that. They would kill him if they thought he believed they couldn't take care of themselves. It was just that they were so headstrong and stubborn, they often disregarded their safety to reach the end goal.

Hermione was quick to start researching. It was helpful to have names even if they were generic. She searched for a James and Steve in military records from the US since Rynan indicated they spoke with an American accent. She also search for assassins with a metal arm. There couldn't be many of those. If there had been one thing Hermione had absolutely loved with the advancing of technology, it was the expansion of the internet.

It wasn't a lot of information to go on but Hermione had operated on less. She pulled in some information from Rynan's medical exam like the fact that the bullets were Soviet slugs that were untraceable. She also put in sniper training as Rynan told her about him taking out her cell phone from her hand. There was one thing that baffled Rynan though. When she had went through his memories, some of them held a frail, sickly Steve while others had him being taller and stronger. She wasn't sure what to make of that.

That ended up being the biggest piece of information for Hermione. She found out who the two were very quickly. Her hacking into the US military records provided them with information on Project Rebirth and the only candidate to be tested, Steven Roger otherwise known as Captain America. Documents followed about his exploits with the Howling Commandos and his right hand man, best friend since childhood, James (Bucky) Barnes.

Rynan was shocked at the difference between the picture of the young man and her memory. They were almost two different people!

Hermione dug deeper and discovered more about the group the Howling Commandos had been fighting, HYDRA. She found traces of HYDRA in various files but there was nothing that was pointing to anything current. The last trail Hermione could find about anything HYDRA related was in the mid 90's, right after the fall of the Soviet Union. After days of combing through files, it was Rynan who actually found the lead.

There were vague trails and non-explicit mentions but Rynan was sure it was HYDRA. They were operating a base in Ukraine that supplied weapons to the terrorist in the Iraq. That finally revealed why Rynan had been targeted. For the last few months, she had been campaigning to end the war in Iraq. She had been making some head way before the end of Parliament. Clearly, HYDRA had thought so too and wished to be rid of her.

It was two weeks later that Rynan finally returned home. She had been cleared by Madame Pomphey, and the moment she was home, her and Bill added extra layers of wards around the perimeter that stopped anyone with ill intent from entering. All she had to do was pick up Teddy from Andromeda's and they could go home.

The duo recognized Rynan's look and tried to reason with her but it was near impossible to change her mind once she was in her 'saving people' mode. Ron tried to talk her out of it while Hermione just focused on getting as much information as she could to help her friend. They had been through this dozens of times. It was better to prepared as much as possible because there was no talking Rynan out of it and she wouldn't waste her time trying. Rynan was going to save this James Buchanan Barnes if it was the last thing she did.

·


	3. Temporary Bliss

If there was one thing her trials had taught her, it was that ignorance was not bliss. Ignorance gets you and many others killed. That was why the Ministry of Magic was transparent in its workings with any rogue witch or wizard that popped up now. The public needed to be informed within 24 hours of the Minister; to have a functioning government, there needed to be trust, both ways, between the citizens and the officials.

It was harder to work with Parliament because she didn't hold the same influence as she did in the Wizarding World. That was why she made connections with those in higher places that could influence the transparency. Most laughed off her efforts. Transparency puts the country in danger, was the response she received when questioned why they wouldn't help her. She knew that the public didn't need to know everything but they did deserve to know when their lives were in danger. It was the moral thing to do. That just gained her another round of laughter.

Hermione pressures her not to give up. She needed to continue to build her case until it couldn't be ignored. And that was what she did. Her work in MI6 gave her a frame of what the public should and shouldn't be told. She wanted the people in charge to be held accountable to their actions in regards to public safety. Fudge had gotten off with nothing but a slap on the wrist for his involvement in allowing Voldemort to grow unchecked for more than a year and the slander of a teenage girl who couldn't defend herself because she wasn't given a chance. She gained a lot of insight in her time at MI6.

This was why she was preparing for anything and everything in this next fight she was about to enter. She had no idea how long it was going to last but she was damn sure going in prepared to win.

She needed more information, she needed to find James Barnes. That was step one; two and three were still in the works. This was the main reason why she requested to be a representative in the G8 Summit that was to be held in Georgia, USA the beginning of June. Her request was granted mainly, as Hermione pointed out, her status and potential influence was to important to ignore.

The United States was the only solid foundation she had on Barnes. She knew there had to be files or something on the former soldier from his time in the Howling Commandos. It was all very confusing as she had no idea where to even start. How do you look for a ghost who has been 'dead' for the past 60 years?

Surprisingly, it was relatively easy, seeing as he came to her. She walked into her hotel room's kitchen to find him sitting at the table, waiting for her. Walking cautiously, Rynan took her time to observe him. He looked better than the last time she saw him. He was out of his battle suit, donning a pair of jeans and a worn jacket paired with a ball cap. She was tense as she stopped just outside the kitchen area; she was unaware of his mind set but when he made no move to attack her, she relaxed, marginally.

He hadn't killed her yet, that had to mean something.

"Tea?" It was so British, Rynan wanted to laugh. James didn't seem to get it though. She poured him a cup anyway. "Did you get your memories back?"

She was curious, it had been a little over a month since he had attacked her and they hadn't been able to find any mention of him. Rynan didn't know if that was a good thing or not. When he had left her unconscious, he hadn't been in the best state of mind. Frankly, Rynan was surprised he wasn't attacking her for what she did to him. If someone had torn through her mind like that (Snape) she would've attacked them.

"Who are you?" His voice was rough, from disuse Rynan imagined. She hadn't heard him speak before besides a whispered "Steve".

How did she answer that? He wasn't moving but it didn't mean he couldn't easily attack. His posture was defensive, like he was expecting an attack, be it from her or someone else. She had no doubt he was carrying more than a handful of weapons on his person.

"You were sent to kill me, so you tell me." It wasn't meant to be accusatory but James still tensed. "You didn't, why?"

What was wrong with her?! Seriously, the man attacked her and she was making small talk with him. Maybe she had taken a few too many bludgers to the head. But she knew what it was like to not be in control of your actions. It had happened to her and she had seen it happen to others. It took heavy thinking and forgiveness to look past the actions of those Imperiused.

"You helped me even as I tried to kill you." He sounded so baffled, people weren't supposed to help their would-be killer, right?

Both their tea's laid untouched, the steam shimmering in the dull lighting of the kitchen as it rose from the scorching liquid.

"I know what it's like to not be in control of your actions. You aren't a killer James." She remembered how many times it took for her to accept the deaths at Hogwarts hadn't been her fault. She would remind him every time she saw him. His memories had affected her in ways nothing had in years. She knew what it felt like to fight off the Imperius Curse, to do thing you never wanted to do, but that was barely a fraction of what he was suffering.

He seemed to shut down after that. He didn't touch anything and he was gone by the time Rynan cleared up, her offer to stay the night ignored. Rynan still didn't know how much he remembered but at least he hadn't attacked her, that had to count for something, right?

Rynan had a fundraiser to attend before she returned home and honestly, she was ready to see Teddy and the Weasley's again. These people just rubbed her the wrong way. She was used to people wanting things from her because of her fame but it was always the politics that made her skin crawl. She knew not all of them were alike but it seemed like everyone here had an agenda besides supporting the veterans at the Memorial Day fundraiser. Though she hadn't been personally involved in the summit meeting, she was able to glimpse how global politics worked. It was something she would one day like to be a part of, if not in the muggle world than the magical one.

The fundraiser was a nightmare, her only highlight was meeting a group of WWII veterans one of whom had made up his mind that he was going to get a kiss from the 'gorgeous gal whose passion rivaled Captain America's'. She was pretty sure there was a proposal in there somewhere but he had had a little too much to drink by then. It was close to midnight when she managed to wrangle her way from meeting another sponsor.

Her flight was bright and early the next morning. She would've loved to have taken a portkey but for appearances sake, she had to use an aeroplane. With all the media that had been focused on her the past few days, Rynan managed to go unnoticed both at the airport and on the plane. It was hilariously pathetic. She even sat commercial! She just had to wear her casual clothes: straight legged jeans paired with combat boots, a flimsy Puddlemore United T-shirt, and a newsboy hat.

It was only when she landed at Heartrow that someone recognized her: a little girl at the luggage claim. Rynan waved and held a finger to her lips. No need for the paparazzi to know she was here. She needed to make a stop at Charing Cross Road before she picked up Teddy. It had been a while since she had left him for longer than two days.

She wondered what HYDRA was getting up to at the moment. They hadn't tried assassinating her again which could only mean their priorities had shifted, she could only guess they were looking for James. This quiet didn't mean she let her guard down though. If she had learned anything about evil organizations, it was that they never gave up. So while they were quiet now, they could easily send someone else to finish the job and they knew about Teddy. She couldn't take that chance.

Her only consultation was that they didn't have James.

/

"Do we have any leads on the Asset?" A calm but rough voice demanded.

The dark skinned male in front of him resisted the urge to fidget. They had all communications, video, and surveillance being monitored. But the Asset had been trained to avoid all of these. He knew how to move to avoid cameras and his cellphone was no longer on his person. They had found it a week after he had gone rogue, laying on a table in an abandoned building of a former HYDRA base in Russia. Because of his memory wipes, he shouldn't have knowledge of the base. It's led them to conclude that he was regaining some of his memories; how much was still undetermined because they haven't been able to get a single lead on him!

"We're still looking sir but he was trained to specifically avoid all forms of identification. We believe that he may be regaining his memory. He'll be confused, disoriented. Perhaps we can use this to our advantage. He'll be returning to where his memories take him. If we can station agents at the other bases, it's a chance, but we may be able to capture him."

The other man turned to his window, it had been a very troubling last few weeks. "Do we know why the programing has been compromised?"

"No sir. All protocols were followed up until we lost contact with him. It must be why Rynan Potter survived."

Yes, Rynan Potter. She was proving to be more of a problem than anticipated. She would live for now, if only because her security was tighter and more alert at the moment. They would have to wait for the frenzy to die down and her guard to drop. He would have his people in Parliament keep a close eye on her for now.

HYDRA had other things to focus on besides Rynan, like getting their Asset back.

/

James found his way back to Rynan a few weeks later, around early July. Rynan wasn't actually aware of it for the first few months. James came almost every night to check on her. By morning he would be gone and Rynan would be none the wiser.

Rynan only became aware of this nightly ritual when she woke up to footsteps in the hallway. The wards hadn't gone off so the person didn't have malice intent towards them but Rynan wasn't willing to take that chance. Her doors already charmed to be quiet, she opened the door slowly to see where the intruder was. She gripped her wand a little tighter when she saw the metal arm that had haunted her dreams for months. But he looked different from the last two times she had seen him. She could only see him from the back but he looked lost, like he didn't know his place in the world and he was doing this out of guilt. She quietly retreated after setting up stronger wards around Teddy's room.

The next night she made sure to set out a blanket and pillow along with a tooth brush and soap. Like she had expected, nothing had been touched. It was 23 days before anything changed. It was subtle but Rynan swore that the tooth brush was slightly moved and damp. It gave her hope, hope that she hadn't completely destroyed his mind. Over the next few days, Rynan noticed more and more changes. The tooth brush was definitely being used, as was the first-floor shower. The new shirt and coat had also been taken. It was a victory in her eyes.

It was two months later that the pattern changed. Unable to fall back asleep and feeling restless for the first time in weeks, Rynan left her room to make a cup of tea. It had to be 04:00, no one should be up. But someone was up: James was leaning quietly against the countertop. Rynan knew he had heard her coming down the stairs. He'd had time to run but here he was. He stayed until just before the sun began to rise. They hadn't talked but, like before, Rynan could see a change in the former assassin. He started to stay longer and longer, sometimes Rynan could even get him to stay while she made breakfast.

She was walking down from another nightmare when she saw him folding up the blankets and pillow she had given him months ago. She kinda stood there, mouth agape – she had never seen him use them before. They rarely talked, Rynan was always the one that initiated conversations but James was just full of surprises.

"S'not polite to leave a mess when you're a guest." He mumbled as he set the material in the side drawer.

Rynan looked at him – she was doing a lot of that – trying to decide why he was doing this, why he was here?

"You're the only one I know who won't try to use me." James wasn't really sure why he kept coming back but the only clear, indisputable thing he knew was that Rynan Potter was not HYDRA and wouldn't try to use him like they had. At her inquiring look, he felt himself chuckle for what felt like the first time, her expression was so open. "The question was across your face. As a politician I would've thought you'd be harder to read."

"I must've taken too much Sleeping Draught because James Barnes did not just make a joke." Shaking her head, she finally made her way to the kitchen for her cup of tea, honestly, at this point she was leaning more towards the Firewhiskey but she had to take Teddy to primary school in a few hours and she couldn't be drunk. She heard James follow her; they were treading in new territory now. "How long have you been sleeping here. Those sheets are always in the same spot every morning when I get up."

"Eight days." It was clipped like all their previous conversations had been. Eight days…that was a few days after she had told him about the wards around the house when she was trying to get him to relax.

"You can sleep more than 4 hours." She had went to bed at midnight, work keeping her up late. James couldn't have been there more than 4 hours.

He was casing the kitchen, like he did every morning; it kept him alert and moving, something she noticed calmed him. "I don't require much sleep. The mission is more important than sleep."

Rynan poured the hot water over her teabag, pouring a second cup for James, like she always did. "So you didn't sleep much with HYDRA? How could you function if you were tired?"

"Exhaustion is not a concept an Asset knows. It is weakness and there is no weakness in HYDRA." A robotic response, like he had been condition to reply to any form of functionality. But he wasn't with HYDRA, he was with her and she wouldn't accept this answer.

"Being tired is part of being human; it's not a weakness."

"No, but memories are." He had tried to sleep in what windows of time he could find but it never worked. His memories, at least he assumed they were memories, woke him up within a few hours if he was lucky. Sleep was the enemy.

"Yeah, memories have a way of being our worst enemy."

He studied her. He still didn't know anything about her beyond what HYDRA had briefed him on. Sure, she had explained that she was a witch but nothing to indicate what had happened in her past. She carried herself like a soldier and she talked like one.

"If it helps, you can have the guest room down the hall. I'm not using it for anything and you can keep your things here while you're…where ever you go during the day." She waved off, not really knowing what he did during the day.

It was mid-November now and the chill was setting in at night. She knew it probably didn't faze him but she remembered sitting in the cupboard, shivering and miserable. She would feel better, even if he didn't use it, now that she offered it to him. Rynan wasn't sure if James had realized it yet but he had a long and painful journey ahead of him. She often worried she was being too trusting, he was an assassin, but she couldn't shake the images she had seen. Her heart and mind compelled her to help him.

James was in the kitchen doorway now, the perfect spot for an assassin in the entire house. He had a clear vantage of the backyard, the stairs, and the hallway. Every possible entrance on the ground level was covered.

His metal arm was covered but she could still imagine it choking the life out of her, the coldness creeping up her neck –

"You think you're safe but they have soldiers everywhere. Всеобъемлющий."

He was worried about her. She was his mission, his responsibility now. She was the only one he could count on and he couldn't let HYDRA get their hands on her. If they found out about her abilities, they would take her apart until she was nothing but a shell – like him.

HYDRA would never get their hands on Rynan Potter not like they had Bucky.

Rynan thought about what James meant by that, Всеобъемлющий. He hadn't stuck around in the mornings for the last few days but she noticed that the guest room had gained a few new trinkets. To get her mind off his confusing warning, she went shopping for him. She had only seen him in two different shirts and the same pair of jeans. He needed more clothes and with the temperatures beginning to dip in the single digits, he would stand out with only a light fall jacket. It was a nice day out, 12.2°C, so she roped Hermione into going shopping with her. Merlin knows she could barely pick out her own cloths let alone a man's. It was during this trip that she decided to break the news to her best friend. Rynan figured if there was an audience, Hermione was less likely to kill her.

"You did what?! Are you crazy, he could kill you!" Yeah, she took it better than she thought. "You are a complete fool, have you even thought about Teddy's safety!" Okay, that was pushing it. Hermione knew she would never do anything to endanger her godson.

"Just let me explain. You know what happened to him, you were all for saving him."

Hermione interrupted her before she could continue. "Yes, I was –I am– but not like this Rynan. He needs professional help. This isn't something that just goes away. He needs to get help, he needs a doctor."

If she was young, Rynan was sure she would've thrown her hands up in frustration at her friend. But she was older and had more self-control, barely.

"That's not an option. Normal doctors wouldn't understand and according to him, HYDRA has soldiers everywhere. The moment he goes to a doctor or a hospital, HYDRA will come after him. An ex-assassin with a metal arm is pretty hard to forget."

"All the more reason for him not to stay with you." Hermione hissed. "If they find out he's with you, they'll come after you again. We don't hold the cards in this Rynan. We have to play what we have carefully."

Rynan knew she was right, hell, when wasn't she right? But this wasn't something she could let go. He needed her, he wouldn't be in this confused mess if she hadn't messed with his mind.

Hermione handed her a few button downs and Henley's. It looked like something James would wear.

"He's been getting his memories back. I can tell. He gets this glaze in his eyes like he's not 'here'. He doesn't say but I can see it in his posture." Rynan held up a pair of cargo pants for Hermione to look at. She barely glanced at them before she shook her head no – rejected. "Should I try going back in his mind, help him sort them out. I think they're keeping him from sleeping."

"Mind magic is dangerous Rynan, I trust you know that. It's not something that can be patched together like a puzzle. I may not be able to perform them but I have read about nasty things that have happened to wizards that have tried to mess with Mind magic. We can control some portions of the mind with spells like Oblivate, the Imperius curse, and the Confundus charm. But we can't heal the mind, if we could – Neville's parents…"

"Yeah no, I understand. I just feel so helpless Hermione. I can tell he's confused and I can't even help because he won't talk to me! He has memories of Rogers; how am I supposed to tell him his best friend is dead!? Or do I just take the cowards way out and wait for him to find out on his own?"

Hermione didn't look up from the boots she was studying. She didn't have an answer to that. She thought of what she would want if Ron or Rynan had died. Either way was painful, she'd died both ways.

"You read the transcripts of his last mission before he went MIA. He plunged the plane into the Arctic just weeks after losing Barnes. He didn't give his coordinates to be found. I don't know but that's saying something. And if they were as close as all the reports say, he won't be able to take it."

"I don't know what you want me to say Rynan. I can't help you, not this time. I don't have the experience. This isn't something you just read in a book." Tears were gathering in her eyes. Rynan felt like suffocating, she had always been able to count on Hermione having the answer. If she didn't know how could she?

The silence stretched on as each struggled to find a solution.

"If his memories are coming back by themselves, just give it time. I can ask a few healers at St. Mungos if they have any suggestions. I think the best you can do…is just be there? He clearly trusts you, that has to mean something, right?" It wasn't often but Hermione was as clueless as her friend. Sure they had all dealt with their fair share of trauma but it was nothing compared to what James Barnes had suffered.

Their arms full of clothes for both Bucky and Teddy, the two witches make their way to the checkout, silence once again permeating around them.

It was when they were outside her house that Rynan finally broke it. "I think I just see a little bit of myself in him." They set their bags down on the couch and set about putting them in piles to wash later. "Just…don't tell Ron yet, please? You know how he gets."

Hermione hesitated. She didn't hide things from her husband, they had a pretty open relationship and he would be disappointed when he found out she had kept this from him. "Only if you tell him eventually Rynan."

"I will. I just want to get all this sorted first."

The day hadn't gone how she wanted, she was actually more conflicted than ever. What was she supposed to do?

 

She decided to take the first steps since James seemed to be comfortable where they were currently at. If he was going to be part of her life, it only made sense for him to be introduced to Teddy. It was a few days before Christmas when she decided to breech the topic with James. She didn't want to do anything he wasn't comfortable with but she couldn't justify lying to her godson anymore.

"I want you to meet Teddy, officially. It's been almost 5 months since you started coming around. It'll be good for everyone."

James wasn't sure. This was a big step from staying the night. What if her godson remembered what he had done, what if he hated him, what if he was scared of him? This wasn't something he could do. He couldn't risk messing up what little normality he had built up the last few months.

As if sensing his conflict, Rynan set down a cup of tea in front of him. "He won't hate you. He's a very understanding little boy with a big heart. If you start off with chocolate, he'll warm right up to you." James was surprised to see the other mug she set besides his. It was hot chocolate with marshmallows, cool whip, and chocolate syrup drizzles on top. He looked at her quizzically, she had cornered him. He gave a nod of acceptance.

Rynan left to wake Teddy. He wasn't going to school today, having come down with a fever and cough the night before. So this was the perfect opportunity for him to meet James.

"Hey little wolf, there's someone downstairs I want you to meet. He's a friend of Aunt Ryn's and he made something very special for you." Rynan coaxed the little metamorphmagus out of bed. He had perked up slightly at the mention of special, his godmother only ever used that word when she bought him chocolate. She grabbed his blanket and Moony to take downstairs as he brushed his teeth and went to the bathroom.

She met him at the bottom of the stairs to walk with him into the kitchen. When he saw who was at the table, he froze. He remembered this man. He was the one who hurt his godmother really bad! Teddy started to back away, he didn't want to be anywhere near this man!

Rynan, noticing the change in Teddy, took him to the doorway to talk with him. "Hey little wolf, what's wrong?"

"He's the one that hurt you! He's not your friend, friends don't hurt each other!" Teddy coughed out. He didn't want to be around that man!

"You're right, he is the one that hurt me. But he didn't want to. Bad people made him do it, bad people made him do terrible things that he had no control over." She pulled Teddy into her arms. "D'ya remember the stories I told you about your dad?"

"He was a werewolf but he was really nice but people only saw the werewolf?"

She chuckled at his answer. "That's right. He was the kindest person I had ever met but people only defined him by something he had no control over. It's the same with James. He's trying to get better and that's why he's here, I'm helping him."

Teddy looked at her, searching her face to see any deception. "So he won't hurt you again?"

"No, he won't."

"Okay." Rynan let out a sigh of relief, she hadn't expected Teddy to accept that explanation so easily. He was a good kid. She grabbed his hand and led him back into the kitchen until he was standing in front of James.

She gave James a reassuring look. "Teddy, this is James Barnes. He used to be a Sergeant in the US Army." She put as much childish enthusiasm into her voice as she could. "James, this is Teddy, my godson."

James and Rynan waited with baited breath for Teddy to make the first move.

Teddy's eyes focused on the two mugs in front of James. "Are you drinking my hot chocolate?! Aunt Ryn makes my coco the same way!" James gave Rynan a hesitant look but she just raised her eyebrows.

"No, I'm not drinking it. It's actually for you, Potter told me it was your favorite." Teddy climbed up the chair like a monkey and attacked the hot coco. James tensed, not expecting the sudden proximity of the child.

Rynan let out a sigh of relief at the end of the day. It had worked, he had one more reason to stay. Teddy had insisted James watch every movie with him, had demanded he eat lunch with him, and had even fallen asleep next to the tense Super Soldier. But Rynan had seen the way James looked at Teddy no matter how hard he tried to hide it. She didn't completely trust him around Teddy alone – he _had_ pulled on gun on him – that would take time.

She also wanted to raise the topic with him about his memories. Hermione had gotten back to her and the only suggestion the Healers had was for James to talk about it and if he wasn't ready for that, to write them down.

James thought it would be good to write down what he remembered. It would help him chronicle what he remember and where the gaps were. So Rynan bought him five journals to begin with. She had set the ground rules with them before he even wrote one word down: These were his writings and no one else's, she would never read them without his permission, she would never touch them without his permission. They were his to do with as he pleased.

It seemed to work. James had been spending more and more time around them. Where before he only stayed till the sun began to rise, now he was there when Teddy woke up and there after supper. Rynan only ever went into his room to clean his clothes but she saw three of the journals filled up already. It pulled her heart in different ways; in one, she was glad he felt comfortable enough to write them down but in the other, that he had so much to write down. She put another five on the bed for when he next came, no questions asked, just like she promised.

With her assurance that no one could see into her yard, Bucky started to go outside with Teddy. He was doing so well, Rynan hated what she was about to do to him. She was about to tear his world apart.

/

She was watching him laugh, actually full out laughing, as he picked up Teddy and ran him around the yard. She saw more and more emotion in him every day…and she was about to tear that all away from him. If she could, she wouldn't but she knew if she was in his shoes she would want to know, no matter the damage. So she had to suck it up and lock her heart away for 10 minutes.

"James." She called from the doorway. He paused to turn and look at her, Teddy's red face pressed into his shoulder as he struggled to catch his breath. "We need to talk."

Like that, he set Teddy down and strode to the door, giving her an inquisitive look. Teddy followed but Rynan sent him upstairs with much protest.

Rynan fiddled with her sleeve as she looked at the ground. She couldn't look at that face, not when she wasn't sure if she would see it again. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you but I'm…I'm not exactly sure how."

He wasn't making it any easier for her as he let her talk.

"When you…when we met, you said a name. The name was partly how I discovered your identity. I don't know if you remember –?"

"Steve Rogers." His eyes glazed over, a telltale sign he was lost in a memory. "He was my friend, best friend? Yeah, we grew up together."

So he did remember. "Ya, Steve. I'm not sure how much HYDRA told you and I know it's been over 60 years but…" Just say it, just say those words Potter. "…He went MIA just weeks after your 'death'. His body was never recovered."

_Captain America is dead. He won't save you._

_Steve Rogers is gone._

_You will be the greatest super solider now that Captain America is dead._

_Steve Rogers died because you weren't there to protect him._

_…Steve Rogers_

_…is_

_…dead_

"James?" Rynan cautiously inquired. She wasn't sure of his thoughts; she saw his body tense but he had yet to move.

It was like he was reliving it all over again. The memories of them taunting him for over 15 years with his death. It never got old for them, the wound always fresh. Steve had always been his to protect, even as Captain America. Steve couldn't be dead, it was implausible, it was unthinkable, but the newspaper was very clear in the country's remembrance of the American hero, as were the Soviet's papers applauding the downfall of the Super Soldier.

"I told him not to do anything stupid. The punk was always so reckless." He didn't even realize his body was shaking. Rynan moved to grab his hand but he stood quickly, avoiding the contact.

_I'm following him._

_Don't do anything stupid till I get back._

_It'll be fun, I promise!_

_I had him on the ropes._

_The thing is, you don't 'ave to. 'Cause I'm with you till the end of the line._

It hurt and he wasn't sure what was hurting, if it was his head or his heart. It didn't matter cuz he felt like he was back with HYDRA, it was all a bad dream. A world without Steve wasn't a world worth living in to Bucky.

"I need some air." And like that, he was gone. Rynan had been prepared for this, she had planned it all out in her head but nothing could prepare her for the emptiness that swept across her body as she watched him walk away. This was something he needed to process by himself. She gave him every reason she could for him to stay, she only hoped he realized that and came back.

She made sandwiches, leaving a few on the counter for James, and made her way up to Teddy's room. She was exhausted and wanted to forget about what she'd had to do. Teddy was always good at comforting her. He gladly showed her how much he had been practicing his abilities. He could change his hair and eye color along with his ear shape. Before she knew it, she was asleep next to Teddy. The next morning wasn't so good. Teddy wasn't exactly a calm sleeper. She had a few bruises on her ribs and back and a creak in her neck. She disentangled her godson from the covers so she could escape and start breakfast. She was ignoring the tiny voice in her head for the moment.

His presence was noticeably absent in the kitchen. The sandwiches were untouched. He didn't show up for breakfast. Making her way to his room, she discovered his emergency backpack missing along with his journals.

Space, she reminded herself, all he needed was space.

/

The first few days after were nightmares. Teddy wanted to know where James had went. If he was coming back. Was it his fault he had left?

To take their mind off the missing member of their trio, Rynan scheduled a visit to Hogsmead to meet up with Neville, Luna, Ginny, Hermione and Ron. It wasn't a Hogsmead weekend so the small village was quiet. It had been months since Neville and Luna had seen Teddy so they were able to keep the little boy occupied for a few hours. Hermione and Ginny noticed that something was bothering the last Potter immediately. Leaving her child with the boys and Luna, the two women demanded Rynan tell them what happened.

"I told him. He just needs space. He'll be back when he sorts everything out." Hermione understood immediately while Ginny stared at her sister in all but blood in confusion. Rynan messed with her wand, creating little slashes of water and charming the liquid into little schools of fish as Hermione filled Ginny in. Damn, she had really gotten good at this.

Ginny leaned back, trying to figure out what to say. "So you let your would-be killer live with you?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at the flippantly way Ginny described it. "No one claimed she was a genius or had self-preservation skills."

So she had horrible friends, but they knew exactly how to distract her and Rynan was never more thankful.

It took James two weeks to return and she could tell he had done a lot of…something.

HYDRA bases across Europe had been destroyed, not that Rynan found out about that until later. He had been looking for any mention about Steve in their files, something concrete to make everything real. He couldn't stand the thought of Steve out there, forgotten, in a frozen tundra. He knew HYDRA must've launched some missions to the Arctic in a bid to find his body. He found nothing, HYDRA had found nothing. Steve had been as lost as him for the past 70 years.

It was outside Siberia – he knows he's not strong enough to confront his demons there – that he realized his mistake. He'll have time to look for Steve…when he's better. Presently, he had a new reason to get better. Rynan and Teddy had found their way into his icy heart; he wasn't sure how or when it had happened but it had. They had broken the Winter Soldier programming and had become essential to him. If he remembered anything about Steve, it was that he wanted Bucky to be happy. James may not be Bucky quite yet but he was sure that wouldn't've mattered to Steve.

James was ready to go home.

It was Saturday morning and Rynan was once again up early because of nightmares. They were getting worse. There had been a time when she thought she had them under control but now they were appearing every other night. Hermione would start to notice, she always did.

Going through the motions of her morning routine, Rynan failed to notice the hot tea prepared exactly how she liked it, sitting at the counter with a certain missing house guest. It was James moving the cup in her direction that caught her notice and she only allowed herself a second to let her shock show before she moved to sit with him.

She'd had faith he would come back.

She sipped her brew, surprised that it was perfectly made. Placing the warm porcelain between her cold hands, the witch studied Barnes, trying to discover if anything had changed. James stared back at her, sipping his own cup in silence.

"You better have a damn good excuse for Teddy when he wakes up." Rynan wasn't sure what she saw in him but she could tell he was back to stay. So for now he was off the hook, that didn't mean she would help him apologize to Teddy; that kid had been devastated when the older man had left abruptly.

James sent her a smile as he took another sip. "A hot coco should do the trick?" Chocolate was always a good bargaining chip with the seven year old.

"Mhm, you may have to do a little better than that." James conceded defeat. He had a few hours to figure out how to win back a seven year-old's trust.

There was a pause as James tried to decide if he wanted to say it. Knowing how much Rynan had given up for him the past year, he knew he owed her honesty. "You only told me about Steve after I bonded with Teddy. It was a calculated move, a good one. You gave me something to come back to. Why?"

It was a question Rynan knew she couldn't ignore anymore. She had avoided it for months because she wasn't even sure why she had. Sure, she had given Hermione a reason but she wasn't even sure that was 100% true.

"…I don't know. I look at you and…it's like I'm looking at a reflection. I know what it's like to have the whole world against you and not know why. I wasn't alone though, and you shouldn't be either." Rynan sat on the stool across from James, fiddling with her mug. "People see me as this larger than life persona; it's easier to put the blame on someone you don't think of as human. The world is a very cold place when you're alone."

"And you were alone?" James was processing this new information. Rynan had never talked about her past, he was finally getting a glimpse into her nightmares. The Winter Soldier part of him filed this away under potential weaknesses.

"Partly. There were times it would've been easier, to fade away and not have anyone care. But Ron and Hermione stuck by me, there were times our bonds were nothing but pieces of thread but they never broke."

She had evaded the real question, James knew she knew what he had really been asking.

"When I was 15, the entire magical government of Britain was against me and by 17 I was on the run. Paranoia, doubt, fear, suspicion, torture…it never really leaves you, does it?" James was finally beginning to understand. Flashes of a teenage girl flickered behind his eyes. Yes, they were impressionable and scarred.

"I read about the 107th's rescue in the Second War. You were separated from the others, in a delirious state when Rogers found you. As a soldier, you must've experience great fear, the thought that any moment could be your last. I can't imagine it was any better with HYDRA?" She pushed her lukewarm tea away and looked James in the eyes. "I know the thoughts that keep you up at night, the voice that whispers in your ear. I don't want someone to go through that alone."

"Your compassion may just kill you one day. To HYDRA, compassion is a weakness. There is only pain and order."

"And that's how I know you're not with HYDRA. You have compassion, a heart that beats for freedom. I've only seen glimpses but I don't think they ever completely broke you."

James studied her. He knew the witch was evaluating him, studying his very soul.

"And if you're wrong? You'd risk Teddy's life on blind faith?" He was testing her. He knew how far she was willing to go but he had to hear her say it.

"It's not blind faith. You forget, I've been in your mind. You're a good man, James. I wouldn't let you around Teddy unless I was 100% sure of that."

He may not have his memories back but he wasn't sure it mattered if they ever would return; as long as he could stay with Rynan Potter, that was all he needed.

The house was warm, the fireplace crackling in the other room. The sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon, the soft pink and yellow rays entering the kitchen through the large windows.

/

The nightmares didn't go away but with James home, they became less frequent. They weren't her normal ones about the war, now they involved losing James and Teddy to HYDRA. James wasn't very specific about the operations of HYDRA, something with his programing he thought, but what he could tell her of their internal operations and disregard for human life had her fearing they would come after Teddy. Rynan knew that James suffered through similar nightmares; he had asked her to silence his room so he wouldn't wake the other two occupants when a nightmare struck him. She reluctantly obliged, knowing he wouldn't have asked unless it couldn't be avoided.

She dealt with them like she always did, by shoving it to the side. She had too much going on to bother with it. She still had her duties as an MP, she had parent-teacher conferences for Teddy, fundraisers to attend for both muggle and wizard affairs. She also was going to give her first lecture to the OWL and NEWT students in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It was over seven years so there wouldn't be any familiar faces to bring back memories of the war. It was scheduled for mid-May to give the students a glimpse at how DADA is used in real life and give them a break from studying for their exams in a week.

With all this on her plate, she didn't have time for Hermione to send her for a psych eval at St. Mungos again. So she used her time in the morning productively. She sorted through the memos Kingsley had sent regarding the known Death Eaters that were still at large, the invitations to government functions as the session was winding to a close, drafts for a new veteran bill was put to the side for further work (she would have to run it pass Hermione before she submitted it to the committee), a note from Teddy's primary school teacher was also put to the side (it was the 5th one this semester, hence the conference), the outline for a new ward system finally caught her attention. This was what she had been looking for. She would have to go over the combinations with Hermione and Bill before she set them up around the house. She had never been so thankful for Percy convincing her to take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy than she was the past year. She may not have been at the top of the class like Hermione but she did fairly well in the classes, enough to create her own wards.

This was how James found her most mornings, pouring over her daily work and personal memos at the dining room table. He's pull up a chair and wrote in his journal until the sun began to rise and one of them moved to start breakfast; it was a nice routine the two had. Whoever wasn't making breakfast was in charge of waking Teddy which was a mission in and of its self.

With a makeover and a charm to change a few features and disguise his metal arm, James was ready to enter public. When asked, she told people that Harry (James) was a childhood friend who she was helping work through issues from the war and she would like it if they respected their privacy. Surprisingly, they only ever asked that once and left them alone when they were out.

James wasn't sure about being out in public, he felt too exposed but Rynan assured him that he was unrecognizable. He agreed and if she wasn't aware of the knife in his boot and the glock in his jacket, all the better. She took him shopping as their first outing. It was for all of them as spring was coming and James only had winter clothes while Teddy had outgrown his spring clothes from last year. According to Hermione, she needed more professional clothes so that was the only reason she was shopping for herself. That was the first stop so she could get the nightmare over with. There was a ministry function coming up that required dress robes so that was one item on the list.

Trying on dresses had never been fun for Rynan but she kept her mouth shut because she didn't want Teddy thinking it was okay to complain about getting clothes, not when she went her entire childhood in Dudley's hand-me-downs.

The dress shop was mainly empty, thankfully. The consultant was quick to select a few dresses that would compliment her figure and coloring. She took the five dresses to the changing room while Teddy and James took a seat.

The first one needed a little magic to zip up. Turning around, Rynan blanched at herself. No way! She may hate the dress but she need a third party opinion since hers didn't really "qualify".

"That looks horrible! You look like a ghost." She was sure raising a critic. Rynan turned to James for his opinion. He could only stare at her. He didn't really know why she was asking for his opinion. Huffing, Rynan went back in to change.

It was the fifth dress that finally made her do a double take. The royal blue was just enough to draw attention to her but not too much. The style was new with a mix of old in the lace. She found herself loving it more and more the longer she looked in the mirror, turning around to see it from all angles. She held her breath as she walked about. Teddy was speechless for the first time all morning so that was a good sign; James on the other hand, she had seen his eyes widen slightly as he took her in.

"So, is this it? We all agree?" Not seeing any objections she walked over to the jewelry to try and match bracelets and earrings. With quick work, they were out of there after only an hour and a half, Rynan called that a successful mission. Now to get the boys clothes.

She was standing next to James, looking over the shirts when she accidentally brushed up against his side. She turned to lean in closer to prevent any eavesdroppers from listening in.

"You brought a gun?!" She hissed, exasperated. It didn't really shock her as she knew he kept weapons within reach and on his person.

"You brought your wand." James counter just as easily.

Unwilling to argue that point, Rynan turned her attention back to the task at hand so they could get out of the shop sometime today.

/

It was once again early morning that found the pair in deep discussion at the dining table. This was one of their more serious discussions. It was something that had been on James' mind since Rynan had told him about Steve. They were the only ones with information about HYDRA or even the knowledge that it was still operating. He had been able to inflict some damage, but those bases had been old, non-operational for years if not decades. He had the skills and resources to find recent HYDRA bases and actual do some good for a change. HYDRA was already looking for him; it would be a bonus if he could get them away from Rynan by his little activities. It would also give him more information on what exactly they had done to him. He knew there had to be a file somewhere. Since he was nonoperational for most of the medical procedures he wasn't fully aware of all that was done.

He knew the hardest part would be convincing Rynan to let him go. Not that she wouldn't agree with him but more that she would want to go with him or send someone with him. He couldn't let either of those happen; this was his mission, his journey.

Surprisingly, it didn't take much for him to convince her to let him go. It seems she had been expecting it for a while.

"HYDRA has bases all around the world. I can't drag you along, not when you have Teddy." James always knew what hand to play to get her to see his side. But she'd be damn if she left it at that so easily.

"I know Aurors who are specifically trained for this. A wizard will be invaluable."

"HYDRA isn't aware wizards exist. If they found out you were one –what Teddy was– they would never stop hunting you."

Rynan was pulling at anything she could think of to get him to reconsider but she knew it was a lost cause. Huffing in defeat, she relayed her stipulations.

"You check in every week, I don't care how, but I want something that shows me you're not dead. If you get hurt, you come home; if the memories become too painful, you come home. Just come home James." Rynan knew she wasn't being fair, if their places had been reversed, she knows she would've been out the door with barely a goodbye. It was different sending out someone you care about.

She fiddled around with the dish cloth, she had never had to send someone out into such a dangerous situation. If she had been in the Aurors like Ron, she knew this would've been second nature to her by now but she couldn't do. She didn't want this to become any easier.

"I'll have Hermione send over her server information so you can send her any information you find. She'll give me the details when she's done."

"I promise, I'll come home."

"Please," Rynan pleaded "…don't make promises you can't keep. I know how this work, you can't make promises in war." James brought his nonmetal arm up to caress Rynan's face. He hated that he was the cause of her sorrow but this was something he had to do, something she knew he had to do.

"I will do everything in my power to come back to you and Teddy, doll. This is my home." He said it with such conviction that Rynan felt her heart rate pick up. He was so close, she could feel his breath on her forehead.

If he tilted her head up a little –no, he couldn't have those thoughts, not when he was about to leave her. Maybe when all this was over. James kissed her forehand, turned and gathered up his duffle bag and jacket. He had a plane to Italy to catch.

It was over a month since he started his missions and so far everything had went smoothly. The bases he had discovered and destroyed were old factories that he doubted HYDRA even used anymore but the information was invaluable. With his two bases destroyed from months ago, his total was now up to five bases. He didn't want to cause too much noise just yet. HYDRA was comfortable and that made them breakable. He knew he hadn't left any trace behind but he also knew there was no other capable of achieving what he had achieved. HYDRA would've guessed who was responsible for all the destruction by now.

Like he promised Rynan, every week he sent her an email, text, or voice message, letting her know he was okay if the periodic data dumps didn't alert her to his status. He excelled in this type of work, espionage, assassination, but living with Rynan made him yearn for more, made him want something more from life. It was this yearning that took him back to London just a few days before Rynan's 26th birthday.

It was like he was the missing puzzle piece she didn't know she was looking for. They helped each other in ways they didn't realize. She knew when he needed to talk to her and when he needed to be left alone. He knew when she needed physical contact and he knew when she needed reassured that she was doing the right thing. They operated as a unit, maybe not a high efficiency unit, but a functioning one nonetheless.

Called in by Kingsley about a recent Death Eater sighting that couldn't wait, Rynan resigned herself to missing super if not breakfast the next morning. This helped James though by allowing him, with the help of Hermione, set up the house for a surprise celebration. Rynan didn't particularly dislike her birthday, she didn't see the point in making a big deal out of it. She hadn't celebrated any of her birthdays for 18 years, there was no point in starting now. She avoided the Burrow the entire week of her birthday just to avoid the celebrations. This year, Hermione had roped Bucky into setting this up so she couldn't avoid it.

Quidditch posters and toys lined the walls, Teddy was personally drawing all the decorations. It was actually James' idea and Hermione loved it: they sent out letters weeks ago to all their old school friends to write letters for Rynan for her birthday. The response was extraordinary. Not only had their friends written back, they had contacted _their_ friends for them to send in letters.

With a quick charm, Hermione had over a hundred letters floating just above their heads. She charmed them so that when Rynan walked in they would automatically start reading one by one.

Hermione also got Mrs. Weasley to bake two treacle tarts for dessert.

James hoped that he could make this birthday unforgettable for Rynan. He remembered turning 26. It was the last birthday he had spent in Brooklyn with Steve. He wanted to make sure Rynan had something like that to remember.

Rynan walked through the door, grumbling about stupid Death Eaters and paparazzi that couldn't take a hint that she didn't want to talk to them. It had been a hard day and all she wanted to do was take a hot shower and go to bed. It was this exhaustion that kept her suspicion buried as she opened the door to the unnaturally quiet house.

Voices assaulted her ears as she took in her living area. It was something out of a fairytale: Quidditch was everywhere along with streamers of red and gold. Decorating the walls were hand drawn pictures that were obviously Teddy's. Her senses were overwhelmed as she took everything in. As she was finally processing everything, the voices became audible; looking up, she could only gaze in wonder at the cards that littered the ceiling, the closest ones reading out their messages.

James quietly stood in the shadow of the stairway, watching her amazement with a smile and shining eyes. Yes, he thinks, she would definitely remember this birthday.

"Aunt Ry!" A flash of turquoise streaked out of the kitchen to embrace his godmother. "Happy Birthday!"

With her seeker reflexes, she caught her godson and pulled him into a tight hug and let him lead her to all his drawing, Teddy chatting about what each one was. The child had effectively distracted the birthday girl.

Hermione made her way out of the kitchen, having finished James' request. She took a quick but silent picture of James as he starred at Rynan. She could tell there was something more there, even if the two didn't know it yet. She joined him at the stairway, a smile her only indication that her task had been completed. The sight of Rynan completely animated as she took in her home settled whatever doubts she had about James living here. He cared about Rynan, he made her happy and that was all that mattered to Hermione. She left, knowing her best friend was in good hands.

"-is us! Me, you, and James! Aunt Hermione even took me to Grandma Molly's to get treacle tart!" Teddy was still talking about everything he had did that day. He had Rynan's undivided attention until she caught sight of a shadow in the stairway, her own personal shadow that she knew was behind all of this. Their eyes connected and Rynan felt something bloom in her chest. She had always held affection for the former Winter Soldier, that was obvious to anyone who saw them interact. This, this didn't feel quite like that.

He did all this…for her. She knew Ron or Hermione had helped him but this just screamed James.

Teddy walked her around the rest of the room but her attention was solely on the man in the shadows. And when they were finally finished, James stepped out to properly greet the birthday girl.

"Happy Birthday Potter." He had that cocky smirk Rynan was seeing more and more of. She had previously only seen them on archive files dealing with Steve Rogers and his life before Captain American. He just looked so much younger, lighter, when he had a smile plastered across his face.

"This is too much. I told you I didn't want anything." She tried to admonish him but she couldn't put much bark behind it when she absolutely loved everything.

Bucky knew he had won this argument, had won it the moment Rynan stepped foot into the house but he still had one last surprise for her. "There's one more thing." He pulled out the box Hermione had slipped him before leaving. "I know you don't like jewelry but I want you to never question your actions, not when they lead to this, to me being me."

Rynan took the box, Bucky's hand unable to move from next to his body, he was too nervous about what she would think. She gasped loudly when she opened it. Inside was a magnificently designed locket. As she took it gently into her hand, he design melted into words: Till the end of the line. She starred at it, unable to process any thoughts. This was the first time Bucky Barnes had acknowledged this as his home. She forced herself to open it, the picture taking her breath away. It was her, laughing and carefree, unaware of the camera. Next to it was a picture of Bucky and Teddy together. It was perfect. It was her family.

/

James stayed for a week before he took off, this time to America. He promised to be back in time to see Teddy off for his first day as a Year 4 student.

 


	4. Dinner Discoveries

A week without communication or data storage had Rynan worried. She knew that there was a chance that James had run into complications and that it might not be safe to contact her but he had never gone so long without giving her some kind of message that he was okay. She hated that Ron couldn't go with him this time. She hated that he went alone to America. She hated that she didn't go with him. They had reports that HYDRA could be operating there as their main base but at the same time, James was positive they were also operating out of Eastern Europe. They had yet to find any proof.

It passed Teddy's orientation day and there was still no word. It was time to issue the alert and accept the fact that something had happened to him.

It wasn't something she wanted to accept. They had spent two years with little problems; there was always an ickling in the back of her head that something was bound to happen, her life had been too quite. She just wished it had happened to her or that she had went with him. If they had been together maybe they could've stopped whatever happened. At this point, she wasn't sure what had happened: if he was dead or if he was captured.

It was all Hermione could do to reassure her that they would find James. It had been years since Hermione and Ron had seen Rynan this devastated. It had been just after the war, when everyone was still recovering from their losses.

"Rynan! Just stop and think for one moment!" Hermione begged her best friend. "You have a child to think about; you can't go rushing off on a rescue mission halfway around the world!"

If there was one thing Hermione knew would always make Rynan come to her senses, it was reminding her about Teddy. She would never do anything to leave Teddy orphaned again. It was her one promise to Andromeda when she took custody of him.

Rynan settled down, falling into the armchair at Hermione's desk. She had never been the patient one, she worked best charging head in and making the plans as she went. But like Hermione had reminded her, this was an organization that seemed to thrive on secrets. They were still working on the information James had given them! HYDRA had, still is, remained hidden for over 60 years. This wasn't a mission she could go into unplanned. She could end up dead or worse, like James.

"I've wasted too much time already, Hermione! I should've looked for him when I didn't receive his first message." Her head was in her hands, threatening to pull out her black locks. "I knew something was wrong!"

Hermione approached her best friend hesitantly. While her temper had reigned in over the years, Rynan was still prone to lashing out.

"He knew the risks. We all did. But it was something he had to do." She crouched in front of the distraught woman, bringing her hands into hers. "We'll do everything we can to help you Rynan. We will find him."

Green eyes locked with brown before moving down to the swollen belly. "I can't ask you to take this risk, not when you have done so much already."

"This child…you know what it's like. I want the world to be a better place for her, not like what we had to grow up in. If HYDRA is operating and have James, I will doing everything I can to bring him home Rynan, not only because of what he means to you and Teddy but because he was my friend to."

That made Rynan pause. She had never taken a moment to realize that James had integrated so far into her life that her best friends thought of him as family.

"She right." A familiar voice spoke from the doorway. Ron had only heard the last part of the exchange but he was able to piece together the conversation. "Somehow he was able to make you smile and laugh when we had all given up hope of seeing it again. We owe him."

How she could ever doubt them baffled Rynan. These two, it seemed, would follow her to the ends of the world.

"How are you even down here? Don't you have paperwork from that Rowe raid a few days ago?" They were right, of course, she needed a level head if she wanted to be of any help to James.

Ron rubbed his head in embarrassment. "They don't know I'm gone."

Hermione marched over to her husband and slapped him over the head. "Honestly Ronald! What kind of example are you setting for your employees? You need to be more responsible."

Ron looked to Rynan for help who only backed away. They had made a pact during school: you incur the wrath of Hermione, you were on your own. "Sorry mate, you're on your own."

Her talk with Hermione had given Rynan an idea. It wasn't something she like doing but she was left without a choice now.

She was halfway down the hallway when the couple noticed she was gone. "Wait! Mom is demanding you come to dinner Saturday."

"Tell her I'm busy!"

"You can't keep avoiding her Rynan!"

"Its worked so far!" She's gone a record three weeks of ignoring Molly's invitations to dinner. It wasn't that she didn't like the Weasley matriarch, it was just tiresome batting off questions about when she was going to find someone to settle down with, start a family. She had gotten more persistent since Ron and Hermione had announced their pregnancy eight months ago.

"She invited Andromeda!"

Dammit…now she had to go. There were few things in life you don't refuse. Andromeda was one of those, especially when it involved her grandson.

A majority of the Weasley's didn't know about Bucky. They knew that she had taken someone in but not the extent, there was no way Teddy could keep that big of a secret. They wouldn't understand and selfishly, Rynan wanted to keep Bucky to herself. For those few years, they were the center of each others world. It was nice to have something like that. No expectations or favors; Bucky only ever wanted her to be Rynan and that's what she gave him.

If Molly knew the extent of their relationship, Rynan didn't doubt that she would've tried interfering somehow. That wasn't something she ever wanted to happen. She was perfectly content with her life and where she was at in it. Or at least, she had been.

With a sigh of resignation, Rynan didn't even bother to turn around. "What time?"

"We're eating outside, everyone's gonna be there. So 5:30ish." Ron had that smug look on his face, Rynan could just hear it in his voice. He loved it when his mother's wrath was focused elsewhere.

"Don't be that way Rynan. It'll be fun; besides, it's been ages since everyone's been together." Hermione assured her as she noticed her friend giving up. Honestly, the dinners weren't that bad.

Rynan let out another sigh, she had three days to mentally prepare herself for this dinner. There weren't nearly enough hours in the day for that to happen.

Waiting for the black haired woman to enter the elevator, Hermione threw her arms around her husband. They had been able to effectively distract the last Potter. Hermione knew it was wrong to manipulate her friend like that but drastic times.

"Now go contact your mother, Ronald. She needs to prepare dinner for Saturday. I'll let everyone know to come." Yes, they had lied about the dinner but it was a little white lie. If it got Rynan to come to family dinners, then did it really matter?

/

"Aunt Ry, when is James coming home?"

Rynan's emerald eyes flickered to her godson, unsure of how to answer his question. She knew Teddy had cared for James as much as she had so of course he would eventually ask about him, especially after he missed the first day of school. She had to be honest with him. She hadn't liked people lying to her and she wasn't going to start with Teddy, not with this.

Clearing her throat, Rynan knelt down to Teddy's level. "I'm not sure Teddy-bear. Remember when we told you bad men were after him, that he was leaving to fight them? I haven't head back from him since he left. I'm looking for him though."

"Is he dead? Did HYDRA get him?" His emerald eyes reflected how terrified Rynan felt. What was more pressing was his knowledge of HYDRA. That was something James and her had sought to keep him from. When questioned, his only reply was that he heard her talking to Hermione about it one day. "Are they going to get us too?"

Cupping his face in her hands, she looked him directly in the eyes. "No one will ever touch you. You see this pendant? It's a portkey keyed into this rune." Rynan showed Teddy the back of her hand; where _I must not tell lies_ was once scarred into her flesh was now a new mark. She had studied the Weasley clock to decipher how it knew the status of each member. After finding that out, she was able to transfer that into a run that flashed different colors to indicate his status. It was only keyed to show injuries, missing, and close to death. "If anything ever happens to you, this necklace will lead me to you."

"Why didn't you give one to James?"

How to explain stubborn adults to an eight year old.

"Sometimes we try to protect those we care about and that means letting them make their own decisions." That was the short version of the major blow up that occurred between the two adults when Rynan suggested James carry a portkey on his person. He refused point blank. If he was ever captured, that was a direct line to her anyone could exploit. "Hey, lets keep this between us for now. No need to worry Mrs. Weasley with this."

"Can I have hot chocolate every night?" Rynan was about to say no when what her eight year old godson was doing hit her.

"Every other night. You get hyper with too much chocolate and you don't need that before bed." She was stern, knowing Teddy would try to manipulate her words later. Not all of what he learned from James was good, she was coming to discover. "Now come, we have a dinner to get to."

/

Dinner wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, Andromeda had to cancel at the last minute, having come down with a case of Mumblemumps. Arriving had been overwhelming. Molly had taken a hold of her and refused to let go for 5 minutes, complaining about how she didn't visit or call. She could be dead for all they know!

"Sorry Mrs. Weasley. I just have a very busy schedule."

"Is this about that mystery man Ron has been going on about? Honestly Rynan dear, are you worried about introducing him to us? We'll be very welcoming, in fact, why isn't he with you?" Molly looked around, as if James would pop up somewhere.

Silence spread across the table as everyone waited for an answer. They too were interested in the new man in Rynan's life. To their knowledge she only ever had one boyfriend so this was big news for them.

Hermione choked on her food, not expecting Mrs. Weasley to bring James up so quickly. She shot worried glances between her husband and friend. They wanted this to be fun and reminding her of James just took all chances of that happening away.

"Mom, now's really not the best time." Ron tried to distract his mother, knowing this wasn't a conversation everyone, especially the kids, needed to hear.

Catching the tense shoulder, Fleur caught on and tried to help. "Oui, zhis converzation shoold be prevat."

"Oh, come you two. There's nothing wrong with introducing him to the family…"

"He's gone. It's complicated but he's missing." The table went completely quiet at that revelation. Molly looked horrified and saddened at her previous actions.

The silence didn't last long as every member of the family offered their support and help in the search. Rynan was elated as her heart swelled with warmth at the love she was being shown.

"There's something I actually need to talk with Percy about after dinner, if that's okay?" She didn't want to hold him and his family up if they had other engagements.

Percy nodded in understanding, already having ideas of what she might need him for.

"Now, can we please get back to this delicious dinner? I imagine it took ages to prepare?" Seeing that the conversation was over, everyone moved to defuse the lingering tension.

"I helped Grandma make the potatoes!" Victoire announced in pride causing everyone to chuckle.

A mumbling Teddy could only be heard by his godmother who struggled not to laugh.

"I set the table!" Little Dominque piped up, already trying to grab the attention from her sister.

Food was passed around and soon everyone was in deep conversations. Bill, Fleur, Percy, and Hermione were talking about the recent law amendments affecting how Gringotts operates and the disgruntlement of the goblins. Molly and Audrey were conversing over the differences between Molly and Lucy as they fed the one year old. Ron got pulled into a conversation with his father about his recommendation for promotion to Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Angelica, Ginny, George, Charlie, and Rynan were in deep discussions about the Quidditch League and what team looked to finish top. Ginny's Harpies were only a few points behind the leader but George was positive that Puddlemore was going to win the league again, especially with Wood having been promoted to first Keeper at the end of last season. The four who had played with Wood could only agree with that assessment. Teddy and Victoire were quietly discussing their favorite animals, Charlie having his dragon claws in the young Metamorphmagus.

The children were old enough to feed and entertain themselves while the adults talked. Teddy and Victoire, though two years apart, were already best of friends. Dominque, always admiring her older sister, was like glue to the six year old's side. Molly was shy but, little and outspoken Dominque could get her cousin to open up fairly quickly. Fred and Roxanne, being twins, were each others best friend. At three years old, they were already causing much mischief. Molly had to have both eyes on the two whenever they came over les they leave her a 'surprise'.

The conversations shifted as Audrey excused herself to clean up Lucy.

"Kids, why don't you go see if Aunt Angie will take you outside for a walk?" Arthur suggested. The kids all hurried to leave the table in anticipation to go play outside. Teddy moved at a more sedate pass. He was very astute and he could see that his godmother was uncomfortable.

Bless his caring soul; Rynan was seeing more and more of his parents in him every day. She gave him a reassuring smile as he let himself be led away by Victoire. Her attention turning back to the table, she had everyone's attention now. There was no way she was getting out of this, not without a massive row. Hermione set her an apologetic smile; this was not in the plan.

"Look, I took James in because he was in trouble. He had been captured in a war and tortured. He was able to escape and with the protection around my house, I figured it was the safest place for him. We weren't in a relationship, nothing like that." She stopped Mrs. Weasley's question before she could ask it.

Bill looked like he was thinking heavily. He was probably finding connections to a few questions she had asked him months ago to help hide them, mainly James.

"Teddy talked about him like crazy though. Never shut up about the man, James." Ginny decided to speak up. She was slightly hurt that Rynan hadn't told her any of this. They were supposed to be close, share secrets like this. Looking at Hermione and her brother, she could tell right away that they were in on this secret. "He made quite an impression on your godson."

It was foolish of her to assume that Teddy could prevent himself from talking about James. He may be smart but he was still only 8.

"It sounds like this young man was raising Teddy."

Rynan wanted to pull her hair out. This was exactly why she didn't come to these dinners. It ended up being 20 questions into her life! Not quite slamming her hand down, she continued on.

"Yes, he helped me look after Teddy and he was very good at it."

"And you never thought to bring him around? If someone is raising my grandson, I expect to be introduced at some point!" An offended Molly questioned.

"It's not like we were dating. He was a house guest at most. He came and went as he pleased."

"Wait-wait, what? Rynan Potter, Miss. Trust-No-One, let a stranger come and go whenever he pleased?" George teased from next to Rynan, having taken his wife's empty chair.

Ron finally spoke up to her defense. "It wasn't like that. We did extensive background checks and Rynan had him see a psychologist before she let him stay. It wasn't just a random decision."

Molly turned her attention to her youngest son. "So you knew about this man as well and never thought to say anything?"

"It wasn't our place Mrs. Weasley. I met James a handful of times. He was very pleasant and wonderful with Teddy but he wasn't capable of interacting, let alone meeting a family of this size. He was still recovering from his capture and trying to rediscover himself. It wasn't so much Rynan didn't want to but that he wasn't prepared."

"Well, I can imagine why you wanted to have a family dinner on such short notice." Molly turned from her children to consul the devastated Rynan, in her mind at least. "You can always stay here if you want dear."

Hermione winced at Mrs. Weasley's words. They had been avoiding that. She didn't know how Rynan would react to the set up. Honestly, they were just trying to do what they thought was best for Rynan. She couldn't waste her life away avoiding everyone and everything. She can be very one track minded.

Rynan caught that first bit and shot a searching look to Ron, he was the easier of the two to crack. "You mean you didn't plan this?"

"No dear. Ron came over just a few days ago, suggesting we have a family dinner together. He was right, it has been too long."

A stab of anger shot through her body at the lie she had been told. She wouldn't ruin the night by acting on it though. Instead she turned an overly pleseant smile to Molly. "You're right Mrs. Weasley, it's nice to be around family."

Not giving her friends a second glance, she walked towards Percy, wanting to get the night over with already.

Her conversation with Percy went well, he understood where she was coming from and what her plans concerning the future were. He knew it was only going to be temporary on his part but permanent on hers. This wasn't a life he ever pictured Rynan having while they had been at Hogwarts. She wasn't made for this world.

Bidding her goodnight, Rynan was the first to leave.

It wasn't too late when they arrived back at their London flat so Rynan let Teddy stay up. The next day was Sunday, they didn't have anywhere to be so it was fine if he stayed up past his bed time. Besides, she had gotten him Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, a movie he had been dying to see ever since they missed it in theaters. Popping some popcorn, Rynan charmed the room dark and arranged the blankets into a fort to watch the movie.

Looking at Teddy, she found herself questioning her recent actions. What if she hurt Teddy? What if something happened to her and she left Teddy all alone again? She found slumber more conflicted than being awake.

/

She found herself stuck in repetition. There were no leads and she couldn't do anything while an MP. Many days found her wishing to drop everything in the Muggle World and return to the Wizarding World for good; it was difficult leading two lives.

It was months later that the opportunity presented itself and Rynan left for the US to track James from his last digital location. She hoped she could gather more information with solid, tangible evidence instead of relying on the trace of his cellphone that had been disconnected the same time he vanished.

International portkey was the only form of magical transportation that was somewhat safe and fast. Apparating across almost 6,000 km of open sea was not safe and there were stories of wizards and witches who had tried and were never heard from again.

Securing a portkey was easy; a white lie never hurt anyone and it did help when the worker in the Department of Magical Transportation was a major fanboy of the Girl Who Lived. It was early morning, the sun not even on the horizon, when she arrived in New York. She would've liked to have had a direct trip to DC but according to laws, all magical being entering the country had to go through MACUSA for proper registration and permit papers, not that she planned on doing any of that. She was on a mission and the less people who knew of it the better. Unfortunately, she greatly underestimated the ability of MACUSA and someone was already there waiting for her when the portkey dropped her off. With great reluctance, she allowed the Auror to lead her to Woolworth Building where the President was waiting for her. The man exuded power and confidence and Rynan remembered him from the last ICW meeting in Britain. The International Magical Community was still on high alert even almost a decade after Voldemort's defeat. The non-magical community was growing increasingly aware of their presence and there were fears of exposure. There was only so much that could be written off and with the death and destruction wrought by Voldemort and his supporters, the eyes had turned to them.

Things had settled down since then but she remembered the President was an adamant supporter in international involvement in anything remotely related to breeches in the Statute of Secrecy. While Rynan didn't agree much with the man's view on Muggles, he seemed like a great leader.

"Ms. Potter! Welcome to America, I hope your trip was well?" President Tagarelli welcomed Rynan with a warm handshake. She took his hand with a tight smile. She hadn't known he was notified of her arrival. There went her secrecy.

"Mister President." Rynan wished Hermione was here, she was an expert at delicate conversations. "I wasn't expecting my arrival to create such a disturbance." Did that sound insulting, accusing? Merlin, she hoped not.

President Tagarelli took it in stride, laughing off her question. "When I received word that the Rynan Potter was finally visiting the States, I had to make sure you received a proper welcome!"

Rynan cringed, this is what she had been hoping to avoid. "Right. I'm sorry, I'd love to stay and talk but I have urgent business that needs taken care of in Washington D.C."

"Ah, yes. Your application was lacking a specific reason for your visit. Even well-known magicals are required to state their purpose and duration when they enter the country. It's how we keep track of the magical activity." His eyes gained a gleam when he started his interrogation. Rynan felt like she was a student again, being scolded by McGonagall. She was treading on thin ice but Rynan wasn't about to be talked down to by this man.

"I'm actually here on official business. If you remember, I am a part of the Muggle –I'm sorry, No-Maj– Parliament over in Britain. We are currently in talks with our American counter-parts to set up a joint committee for-." President Tagarelli cut her off before she could explain any further.

"Yes, yes. You joined the No-Maj government instead of taking a place in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I can't see why when you could be a great asset in your ministry." Rynan could hear his contempt for the muggles in his voice. He was just like all the others who resented her decision to work in the muggle world. Unconcerned with his views, Rynan saw her plan working perfectly. "And how long will you be staying?"

Rynan held back a smirk. "Only a couple of days if everything goes as planned. Than back home to London." She gave him a cheerful smile, already getting a feeling that the sooner she was gone, the better.

"What a shame. Maybe your next visit can be for pleasure? I'm sure Headmaster Fontaine would love for you to visit Ilvermorny at some point, it is the greatest wizarding school in the world after all."

"I would love to but I fear we must agree to disagree with that. To each their own, right?"

Tagarelli chuckled at that and gave Potter a once over. She was not what he had been expecting. "I guess we will. If you can just fill out these Wand Permit papers, I can have you escorted out so you can be on your way." He pulled out copies from the Federal Wand Permit Office that she had neglected to fill our beforehand, as was required.

Rynan acquiesced to their request, wanting to get on with her mission. If she obliged to their rules, hopefully they wouldn't have her tailed. That was the last thing she needed as she looked for James. All she could do was hope that her reputation held some merit here in the States.

Leaving, Rynan was able to admire the beauty of MACUSA that she had missed coming in. The building was the exact opposite of the Ministry of Magic. The giant threat monitor commanded attention from her. Studying it, she was greatly reminded of the Weasley Family clock. The Auror leading her out noticed her distraction.

"It measures the magical exposure threat level. If you look, it's been oscillating between Level 3 and 4 for the past decade. There's much concern over America."

Rynan studied it more, she could make out the different levels along with the counter on the side. "Has it ever reached the Emergency Level 6?"

"We've hit a Level 5 a hand full of times this past century but only once have we ever reached a Level 6. The magical world had been exposed and it was only thanks to the help of one of your people, that we were able to get through it." The Auror, she had yet to learn his name, talked as if the event had greatly affected him but she couldn't come up with anything in recent history that would've exposed the Wizardng World. Based on her expression, her companion could tell. "It was 1926 and an Obscurus was attacking the city. Grindelwald had impersonated our Director of Magical Security and his actions exposed magic to the no-maj of the city. The ICW was present in the city at the time and everyone feared that our world was exposed and war was coming."

"The magical world is exposed to muggles and all Binns talked about was Goblin Wars?" Rynan muttered in disbelief. Since she had left Hogwarts, she had started to see that their education in the history of their world was sorely lacking.

"Mr. Scamander, with his thunderbird and an unidentified potion, was able to oblivate the entire city of their memories of magic. He saved our world from war."

That was quite a tale. She wondered why she had never heard of it considering that it was a British wizard that saved the day. Then again, they hadn't learned much about Gellert Grindelwald either. "Thank you…I'm sorry, I don't think I ever got your name."

"Kowalski, ma'am, Bernard Kowalski."

"Well, it was nice meeting with you Auror Kowalski. I really must be going now. Don't want to be late."

Bernard directed her towards the revolving doors, giving her final instructions for her stay in the States.

"Now, your permit is only good for one year. If you plan on coming back any time after, you will need to fill out new paperwork. We do require all wizards and witches to check in when they enter the country."

Rynan allowed a laugh to escape. The man was uncommonly friendly and she could tell that this was a rehearsed line. "So, just follow the rules? Rules were never really my thing, I'm afraid. This doesn't mean I'll be followed, will it?"

"Only if you don't follow the law, Ms. Potter." Kowalski replied, a twinkle in his eyes at her challenge. He knew another who never really seemed to follow the rules.

Walking onto the streets of New York, she was hit with the chilly early spring air. She had wasted an hour in there with political nonsense. Entering the nearby ally, she apparated to Washington DC. There was much to do with very little time.


	5. Research Abroad

The realization that she couldn't keep going the way she was, Rynan knew she had made the right decision. Though she was reelected, she had come to an agreement with Kingsley and the Prime Minister so that when the session ended, Percy would be replacing her as the magical liaison in the muggle world. They both approved and her job was to integrate him into her team so when it came time to announce her retirement, he would be the obvious replacement. It went flawlessly and she had no regrets stepping down and handing the reigns to him. If she was honest with herself, she had no idea why she entered politics to begin with.

It was a welcomed relief. While she liked working and setting up programs to help children and veterans, the job had begun to weigh on her. That environment wasn't suited for her. She was never one for bureaucrats, it was a wonder she survived as long as she did!

Her first stop as a retiree? Visiting a fellow retiree in Southwest England to see if he was up for some reminiscing about his travels.

She had done some research on Mr. Newt Scamander after her failed tracking mission to the US back in 2007. She knew that if there was one person who could help her, it was him. His books were testament to that. She needed advice. The last few years had done nothing but highlight her severe lack of knowledge on the diversity of magic. There was so much more out there to learn and if she was on some psycho's hit list again, it would be in her best interest to learn as much as she could.

Newt had not only traveled all over the world, he had interacted with the different magics utilized and manipulated by the various societies. She was coming to learn that no two countries practiced magic the same. While he probably couldn't help her with the magic portion, he was sure to be able to push her where to go. Learning about the various creatures, plants, and sacred grounds was just another part of the immersion he would've had to take when searching for his creatures.

He welcomed her into his home. Her exploits had reached even his old ears. Tales of dragon rescues, basilisk slaying, and house elf befriending had sparked an interest in her beyond her propagated image. Luna also helped increase his interest him her. His granddaughter-in-law thought very highly of the last Potter. She had asked him to help her old friend in her quest to learn the different types of magics across the world.

It only took him an evening to understand and conclude that he genuinely liked Rynan Potter. He recounted his memorable travels to her. Detailing the places that would serve her purpose. The deserts of Egypt held secrets of magic that still eluded desperate historians; the Jaadoogar of the Ganges who used ancestral magic and where reincarnation dominated the culture with necromancy being freely taught; Uagadou, where the best scholars in Alchemy and Self-Transfiguration taught; the depths of the Amazon Rainforest where every herbologist and magizoologist dreamed of going; the volcanic peaks and chaotic whirlpools of Japan where elementals dictate the weather to keep curious muggles away; or the Outback, a persevered culture that had remained unchanged for centuries but where the practitioners were wary of outsiders.

If she wanted to learn wandless magic, it would be best to travel to Africa and North America, where the native cultures and tribes still practiced wandless magic. Children, from a young age, were taught to control their magic and manipulate it to their will. Rarely, if any, go on to acquire wands. Most do if they are traveling to different countries where wand registry is mandatory. He had learned that wandless magic, according to some traditions, reflected the intentions of the wizard or witch which was why many of the people native to those lands held a distrust of wands. With her ability to perform some wandless magic, she shouldn't find it too hard to learn how to properly control it. Being able to perform nonverbal spells was an essential part of being an Auror in MACUSA and, according to Ron, England.

It was actually Tina who made the suggestion that the best place to learn offensive magic was in the United States. With the strict laws MACUSA had enforced over the years and the increase in traffickers and black-market activity, the Aurors in the US needed to be highly skilled in defense if they wanted to do their job and survive.

With her options limitless, Rynan decided to visit Uagadou first. Their wandless ability was what she needed to learn before anything else. She had been caught out too many times without her wand and a few of those times could've resulted in her death. She couldn't keep relying on uncontrolled bursts of magic to save her.

Teddy, having another year until he could attend Hogwarts, journeyed with his godmother.

There were certain perks to being a national hero. She had all the permits and registration forms filled out before she even left the country and had international portkeys available for all the places she planned to visit. Rynan planned to come back from this journey stronger than ever.

/

Spending a year abroad was a completely different adventure and a more enjoyable one than any of her previous ones. She loved being away from the crowds, it was just her and Teddy, no expectations, just a godmother and her godson.

Rynan and Teddy were in Arizona on a side trip to find a nest of Thunderbirds when her old mirror from Sirius began to vibrate persistently. Pulling Teddy away from the edge of the Grand Canyon for a third time, Rynan kept a firm hold on his collar as she fished the mirror out of her bag. It was Hermione.

"Evening 'Mione. What's up? Why didn't you call me?" Rynan inquired. The best friends usually used cellphones to communicate, it helped for when they were in a muggle area. For muggles, it wasn't considered normal to talk to a mirror...who knew?

Rynan could see Hermione's face go red. "For your information Rynan Lily Potter, I have called you a total of EIGHT times and each time the call refused to go through! I went straight to voicemail!"

Oh…that wasn't good. Sheepishly, Rynan tried to fix her mistake. "Er...I must not get service out here. Teddy and me are pretty deep in the desert."

"Is that Hermione! Tell her about how I saved that S-." The adolescent was cut off by his impatient guardian.

"Yes, I'll be sure to tell her all about how you almost fell into the Canyon, THREE times." Exasperation laced every word as Rynan wondered if this is what McGonagall felt like every time she had step foot in her office.

"Rynan." The seriousness in her friend's voice grabbed Rynan's attention. Hermione had something important to tell her. "There was an assassination."

"And?!" Hope swelled in her chest. It had been years since anything had popped up. She was also weary. There had been some unrest in Britain with the recent passing of the Equal Right's Werewolf Act, shortened to Lupin's Law. Quite a few in the old crowd had been fundamental in the legislation and passing of it.

"It matches his MO and a SHIELD agent was involved. It's not definitive, but with the involvement of SHIELD, it's a high probability that this was the work of the Winter Soldier." Hermione's eyes flickered to her left, Ron must be with her. "I know you were planning to spend a few more weeks abroad but we are working on limited time. It could be years before our next lead."

Rynan didn't even have to think about it. She had spent the last few months preparing for this moment. They had never figured out why HYDRA had targeted her but they all knew they would try again. Hopefully, with this information, they could take the fight to HYDRA.

"We'll be home in 6 hours." Hermione nodded before signing off.

"Did Hermione find James?" Teddy had only heard part of the conversation, too put off that his godmother had brought up those incidents…it was a total accident!

Rynan wasn't sure what to think, all these years, waiting for a lead and now she had one. It was impossible to believe.

"Yeah, er…sorry kiddo, trips cut short. I'll make it up to you, promise." She knew Teddy was going to be disappointed. He had been looking forward to visiting the Shapeshifters of the Northwest.

The harsh desert sun was beating down on the duo. Rynan felt sweat sliding down her shirt and she knew not all of it was from the heat. She was anxious, if they pulled this off, there was a chance that they would be pulled into another war. She wasn't sure if she was prepared for that. She was different from her 17 year old self, she had more to lose now. It was different, times were different. She was pulled into the war as a child because the adults refused to do their job. But they were the adults now and she could understand some of the challenges Dumbledore had faced with them. Like him, she had the knowledge and ability to do something but in doing so, she would expose Teddy to a life she didn't want him to live. He had already seen too much. Exposing this information to those outside their grouped risked it getting leaked and they couldn't lose any upper hand they had just like Dumbledore couldn't risk information about the Order getting out. So maybe she needed to have another conversation with the former headmaster.

Her inner battle continued as she apparated them to LAX, where MACUSA had the floo network connected for cross-continent travel. It was annoying, the rules of MACUSA, the paperwork was highly unnecessary but at least her friendship with Bernard got her along faster than others. She nodded to him as he handed her the documents for the international portkey. Signing her and Teddy's name, she was still struggling with her thoughts as Teddy rattled off to Bernie about where he'd been. Bernie laughed and congratulated the kid before he had to remind him to take hold of the CD unless he wanted to be left behind.

Her landing was rough, she had never got the hang of landing, something George was quick to make fun of her about when he saw it. Fortunately, Ron was there to balance her before she face planted into the ground.

"Most powerful witch of her generation and you still can't use a portkey right." He teased her. She responded with a gesture Teddy couldn't see but based on the gasp from an older witch passing by, it wasn't very nice. "Pleasant as ever." Gesturing to follow him, Ron started off to the elevator. "Mione's been working nonstop since she called you. She got a few names she had cross referenced from previous reports. I sent a few Aurors out to trail the guys but not engage."

Rynan gave a nervous look at that. "Should we be involving the Ministry so soon? We don't want to chance exposing our world."

Ron waved off her concerns. "They're some of the best in espionage. They're muggleborn so they know how to blend in."

Rynan wasn't entirely convinced but she also struggled to let others in and help. She would trust their judgement with this.

Closing the elevator doors, they began the decent to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Why're we going to your office?" Rynan had fidgeted the entire time in the small elevator. She had noticed that they were going the wrong way to get to Hermione's suite.

Ron gave her a worrying look. He could tell that she was troubled by the news, they all were, but she was really spacing out. Over the years he had picked up on the few tells Rynan showed when she was worried or nervous. "We didn't think this conversation should be something Teddy should hear. We're taking him to my office so he can't get into anything while we talk."

She could've slapped herself for not thinking about that. "Um, yeah, that's a really good idea."

Teddy was ready to put up a fight when he heard he was getting left behind. He had traveled all around the world, he was old enough to hear whatever it was they had to say about James!

"That's completely not fair! I deserve-."

"Middle-right drawer, my candy stash is all yours." Ron interrupted before Teddy could go any further. There were no arguments after that. They left the sugar high 10 year old locked in Ron's office as they took off to their meeting.

It wasn't a long walk between the couple's offices but it was enough of a distance Ron knew he couldn't finish the conversation he wanted to have with Rynan.

The silence wasn't uncomfortable but Rynan just couldn't stand it anymore. "You know you can't bribe your kid with candy to get them to do what you want, right?" Her eyes crinkled in amusement as she imagined Ron chasing after little Rosie with candy.

"Well Rose isn't old enough to bride yet. She just eats and cries. Honestly, you had it easy with Teddy. He was already eating solid foods and sleeping through the night when he came to stay with you. Rosie has us up four times a night and every time I feed her she spits it up all over me!" Ron practically wailed, moaning in despair about the troubles of a new baby.

She found herself bending over, not even trying to control her laughter. His face was priceless but she conceded; he was right about Teddy. By the time he came into her custody he was way past that stage and was almost potty trained. Tonks and Remus has been amazing parents to Teddy and Andromeda was an even better Grandma. There wasn't much work she had to do by then.

"Just be thankful she doesn't have a twin. Remember when Freddie and Roxxy were that age? Your mom was over there every weekend helping them!" Ron's face went white at the possibility…never, they were never having twins!

They stopped outside the office for the Deputy Head of Magical Law Enforcement. It was just weird to think that Ron was technically the boss of Hermione but they both knew that in a few years their little know-it-all would be vying for the top position and there were no questions that she would get it.

"Honestly you two, stop loitering and come in!" Hermione's exhausted voice rang out. Apparently they had taken too long to enter.

Opening the door, Ron let Rynan in before following and closing it with a wave of his wand and a silencing spell. Wasting no time, Rynan went straight to the notes splayed across the desk. Hermione had notes on the scientist, the shooting victim, SHIELD deployment, and the suspected HYDRA agents she had crossed referenced as being suspiciously near previous episodes of suspected HYDRA activity.

Rynan held the notes with the information of Dr. Ameer AlJahni, studying what exactly could've drawn Hydra's interest. "Why exactly was an Iranian scientist assassinated? I didn't think Iran had nuclear weapons?" She pulled all relevant information about Iran over, looking over anything that could've changed in the last year while she was away.

Hermione sat down as she pushed the information Rynan was looking for towards her. She had been able to follow an email and phone conversation trail that alluded to why AlJahni may have been targeted. It hadn't been easy getting this information.

"Officially, they don't. But Ameer AlJahni, a nuclear engineer, was pretty high up in the program and if the rumors are correct, was defecting and willing to sell information for protection. SHIELD was called in to get him out and to Geneva safely. If there was confirmation of nuclear weapons in Iran, the UN would have no choice but to act against them. Troops would be pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan."

"But why kill him? Isn't that what HYDRA does? Create as much destruction as possible?" Ron didn't really know what nuclear weapons were but he was able to grasp the importance of them.

Rynan was quiet for a moment. She hadn't heard anything about Iran from her contacts when she was still an MP but that didn't mean anything. They had often received information late concerning the Middle East. "What if they were doing more than nuclear weapons? What if Hydra is working with Iran?"

"There's nothing more powerful to create yet, at least of whats been discovered. And that's impossible; they wouldn't be able to hide a connection like that. Someone would notice if there was a shadow government." Thoughts immediately went to their year on the run when Thicknesse was the Minister.

"But it's simpler than that." Ron interrupted. He had been trained to think like the enemy for years. This was why he was seeing it before the girls. "They didn't want SHIELD to have him. No one wants their enemy to have the advantage. This Ameer would've been useful to SHIELD, no?"

Would he really have been that useful? There were hundreds of other scientists out there with nuclear knowledge, many of them already working with SHIELD. His conclusion made sense when looking at the bigger picture but Rynan couldn't help the feeling that they may be missing something.

"So they're eliminating anyone that may pose a threat to their plans, present or future?" So dropping off the face of the earth for the past few months had actually been a good thing. Get her off their radar for the time being.

Hermione moved forward with the conversation. They were here to discuss Hydra's reasoning. She pulled out a new set of photos and set them in front of Rynan. Ron leaned forward on the desk to get a better look as well.

"I was able to pull satellite feed from nearby satellites and found these pictures from that time frame. They were shot in Odessa. Here's a picture of the car traveling north and with the delay we now see the car here." She pointed to the dark pile at the bottom of a cliff.

That looks like a long drop. How they initially survived it was a miracle.

"By all accounts, the two survived the crash. A single gunshot to the heart is the cause of death for Dr. AlJahni."

"James." Rynan knew right away this was where Hermione had connected the dots. The range and target could only have been taken by an expert sniper who was able to move without being seen. She had only been able to get a single, grainy photo of the perpetrator but Rynan could make out the glimmer of metal on the left side of the assassin.

"That was my conclusion."

Ron was studying the pictures, trying to put himself there in Odessa. "How do you know the SHIELD agent survived?"

Here Hermione blushed. "I hacked into SHIELD servers and found the report before they were able to block access. The agent was stated to be in the hospital but in stable condition."

Rynan gave her an impressed look. She was getting better at hacking into secure servers. "You'll have to be careful. If they know someone is hacking into their servers, they may set up some spyware to try and track you."

Their bushy haired friend sent her a smug smirk. "I also left them a little surprise." She went on to explain what exactly she had done to get this information.

She had located what she believed to be active bases of HYDRA but couldn't say for sure how many total there were. She had implemented viruses into both the Chinese and Russian satellites that had been orbiting the area around the time of the attack. The activity on the surrounding buildings painted a picture of where these people had been located. She would never have made the connection without the information provided by both satellites and the pictures a freelance photojournalist had uploaded.

Hermione figured that HYDRA had to be in control of multiple air force bases or airports to be able to accomplish their missions. It would be hard but not impossible to get James onto a plane with no questions asked. With an organization like HYDRA though, Hermione knew they wouldn't want to take chances like that. They had to have their own bases. This was why she focused on the active air force base in Odessa and Melitpolo. Both were by the coast and provided easy access to the Middle East if their theory was correct about HYDRA supplying the Iraqi War.

Hermione wasn't only the brightest witch of her generation, she also graduated at the top her class at university. Over the years, the internet had become like a second brain for her. While she didn't agree with hacking government websites, her loyalty to Rynan trumped governmental secrets.

"This is brilliant!" Rynan knew Hermione was intelligent but this was just something else. "You did all this…in two days?"

"Remember how you talked with that computer scientist about setting up tracers and certain key words or actions to track the mental health of returning troops? You were researching the benefit of more intervention in veteran mental health?" Seeing the two nod, she continued. "I used that same concept but created a program that would alert me to any activity that matched Hydra or the Winter Soldier's methods."

"Wouldn't that generate a lot of hits though?"

"While originally, yes, I created an algorithm and input a function of probability and statistical significance to narrow the results to within a 95% value so I had something manageable to work with. I have only gotten 12 results since I set it up."

All of that went over the Rynan and Ron's heads but they knew Hermione was a genius. Hermione gathered up the scattered papers and spoke to the two as she cleared up her office.

"I suggest you get Teddy," she directed to Rynan before turning to her husband. "And you can pick up Rosie from the Burrow. I start setting everything up in my office at home."

Wrapping up their meeting and signaling their departure to Auror Carmichael, the trio left to do as instructed.

With all the new information, Rynan had forgotten her previous apprehension about going after Hydra. Hermione had instilled a new confidence in her soul, a thought that they might be able to avoid an all-out war against the terrorist group.

Teddy was happy with the news when they made it to the Wealsey-Granger household. Since Hermione had narrowed the possible suspects to the two air bases, the flight manifests with the actual arrival and departures needed to be sorted through to find the two abnormalities. This was something delegated to Rynan and Teddy as Ron took care of feeding, bathing, and putting Rose to sleep.

Rynan was pacing around as Hermione gathered the information for them to look over. "And you're sure MI6 can't track this? I don't need you getting arrested for helping me. My connections can only go so far and this breaches so many of them already." She was worried and Hermione could hear it in her frantic pacing. Enough time had passed that her earlier conviction and confidence had waned. Back was her apprehension and anxiety.

Hermione threw her friend an irritated look. "Yes, I'm sure. I've thrown in separate viruses, with no commonality, at the various servers. I've also scrambled our signal even though I'm operating on a DNS. When they go to trace it, they'll think the perpetrators are in Italy and Turkey, if they can even get that far. I'll be surprised if they even connect the two attacks."

Rynan stared at her friend in slight fear. She was glad Hermione was on her side and not bent on world domination because she would succeed, without a doubt.

The list wasn't as extensive as a normal airport but it still took a few hours to go over the patterns of daily flights and days to search the records of two weeks before and after the attack. It was well into the morning when Rynan finally saw the two flight patterns. It wasn't easy to spot as the flights were actually on the manifest. What gave it away was the model. No planes on the base were that new and when she followed the flight paths, its final destination was Washington DC. She went over it again and saw the arrival, though it made two stops before, had also left from DC. She didn't believe that to be a coincidence, not when DC had been on their list of potential bases for years.

Something else caught her eye. Washington DC was the headquarters for SHIELD, the organization that grew from the now defunct SSR. The same SSR that took on HYDRA during WWII. It looked like DC just jumped to #1 on her places to visit list.

Content that she had finally had a break through, she circled the flights and joined Teddy, who had fallen asleep on her bed, for a little shut eye.

Things were looking up.

/

September 1st arrived faster than anyone realized or liked. Rynan wasn't ready to let go of Teddy to Hogwarts but she knew she had to. He would have the time of his life there and he would finally be able to make friends his own age.

Teddy Lupin was hopping around like it was Christmas morning and Rynan couldn't keep the smile off her face at the sheer joy radiating off her godson. He had been waiting for this day for months, ever since he had gotten his letter over the summer.

It was 9 o'clock on the dot when the floo went off, signaling Andromeda's arrival. The two adults watched as the young metamorphmagus ran around making sure he packed everything, grabbing a pancake every time he passed the kitchen table.

"Granma!" Mouth full and crumbs falling out of his mouth, Teddy greeted Andy as he rushed by looking for his pictures of the past year.

Rynan took a seat at the counter with a hot cup of tea. "He's been up since 5:30 like this. It was hell getting him to go to bed last night, I almost tied him down."

Andy laughed. She remembered when it came time for Nymphadora to go to Hogwarts. Nothing could keep that girl calm. "He gets it from his mother you know. I just hope Minerva is prepared for him. Merlin knows they weren't for Nymphaodora."

Andy poured herself her own cup of tea, taking the time to properly study Rynan. The circles under her eyes were darker and she could see the visible sag in the young girl's body. She was exhausted. She could also see how her shirt was slightly looser on her. She wasn't taking care of herself.

"I expect the woman taking care of my grandson to take better care of herself." Andy, blunt as ever, surprised Rynan with her out-of-the-blue statement. She knew what she was talking about though.

"It's been a rough couple of weeks since we got back from America. It's sorted out now." She tried to placate the woman who had integrated herself into her life.

"You may forget, but I also lost my husband. Disappearing with hardly any word only to find out of his death weeks later." Seeing Rynan flinch at that, the former Black realized she could've stated that differently. "What I mean, is that you can talk to me and I'll understand. I won't give you false hope but you need to take care of yourself. You're no use to anyone half dead."

Silence permeated the room as Rynan thought about Andy's words. She was right but there was also-

"Do you think I made the right decision? With Teddy?"

"About taking him in? You're about eight years too late to back out now. If you're talking about whatever it is you and your accomplices are getting up to, that's your call. See, that's what it means to be a parent. You have to make a decision. No one can tell you if it's the right or wrong one. We're not perfect and you'll clash heads with him eventually but what matters is that you try. Dora and I didn't see eye to eye on her becoming an Auror but she was a damn good one. We do what we think is best for our children." With her parenting advice imparted, Andy took off to find her grandson. Rynan watched her walk away, thinking on her words.

"Edward Remus Lupin, you have 5 minutes and we are leaving! …I don't care if you can't find your Chocolate Frog collection. You will not embarrass your godmother and I by making us late. And for Merlin's sake, act like you were raised with some manners and stop running around with food in your mouth!" Andy scowled her grandson who actually stopped running around and took the time to properly chew and swallow his breakfast.

A smile found its way onto Rynan's tired face. While Teddy had gotten her up at 5:30, she hadn't gotten to bed until 2ish. But she wasn't about to ruin the best day of her godson's life.

With a quick summoning spell, Rynan had all of Teddy's things downstairs and packed away into his trunk. She was very liberal in her use of magic around Teddy. She had even taught him a few useful spells once they got his wand, though he had been using wandless magic all throughout their travels the previous months.

Once Teddy was inspected and deemed presentable by Andy, Rynan apparated the three of them to Kings Cross. Platform 9 ¾ was one place Teddy had never been and was just as excited about visiting. The two adults let him enter by himself, following at a more sedate pace.

It was still as breathtaking as ever. Rynan remembered her first time stepping through that barrier and thinking about how different her life was about to be. The gleaming red Hogwart's express sat puffing plumes of smoke and the sounds of families saying their goodbyes and friends greeting each other filled the air. There were several whispers that followed the trio as they recognized Rynan but thankfully no one approached her.

Rynan went on ahead to place Teddy's trunk on the train to give grandmother and grandson time to say their goodbyes. She didn't recognize any of these people but that was predictable; no one her age had children old enough to attend Hogwarts yet. If she slipped a certain map into his trunk, well, it was his birthright and she no longer had any use for it.

Heading back, she was able to catch the final hug before Teddy came to say goodbye.

Crouching down so she could speak to him, Rynan started her speech, vowing not to cry. "Now, I don't want to be hearing from Professor McGonagall about you misbehaving. I expect to receive a letter once a week, I don't care what it's about. Don't eat too much chocolate and please try to eat your vegetables."

"I know Aunt Ry. Granma already gave me this speech." Teddy rolled his eyes.

"Well, I expect you to listen to me as well." Rynan huffed, playing around with him. "Be sure to make lots of friends and have fun. I'll see you at Christmas." Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes and her voice slightly cracked. She didn't think it would be this hard to see Teddy off.

"I will. " Teddy wrapped his arms around his godmother, tightening them as he also willed away his tears. "I love you."

"I love you to, little cub." Pulling away and composing themselves, Rynan watched as he grabbed his bag and took off to board the train.

"He'll be fine." A voice behind her spoke. Andy had moved to her side when Teddy boarded the train. "He has the best of his parents and you raised him. I expect him to be making friends before the train even departs."

Rynan wiped the wetness from her eyes as she continued to stare at the train. "Merlin, how are you so calm? You make this look so easy."

Andy let out a laugh. Being raised a Black had left a mark it seems. "You're doing well, better than Ted even did. He was balling his eyes out by the time Dora boarded the train."

It served its purpose. Rynan barked out a laugh, any traces of tears gone. And right on time. They spotted Teddy leaning out a nearby window, frantically waving goodbye and pointing at his new friend. Andy and Rynan could do nothing but smile. Like the rest of the parents, they waited until the train had left the station before making their way out.

They had a lunch appointment and a discussion Andy thought was long overdue.

/

The house was quiet when she got home later in the day. There was still evidence of the earlier disaster but nothing a quick charm couldn't fix. Instead, Rynan opted to pick everything up by hand. She didn't think it would be that hard to see him off. It was going to be a change, for both of them. She knew eventually things would have to change, she just wished it didn't feel like he was growing up so fast.

Placing everything neatly in his bedroom and closing the door, she dragged her body into her study. She was tired but she knew sleep would elude her if she tried. It was better to be productive than waste her time trying to sleep.

Kingsley had asked her to come in and help train the new Auror's coming through the Academy. He knew if things had been different, she would've joined the Aurors right after the war; she was one of the best fighters he had. He also knew she had the free time, now that Teddy was at school. He was hoping he could somehow convince her to join but he wasn't holding out hope. She did agree to help though, which was why she was in her study going over plans: what spells they should know, tactics, stamina, basic combat, and advanced spell chaining.

After their initial breakthrough, things had slowed down. Hermione and Ron had their jobs and daughter to worry about. And Rynan was okay with that, she understood completely.

She knew spending all her time focused on this was unhealthy which was why she spent more time with Teddy before he left and took Kingsley up on his offer. The Department of Mysteries had also offered her a job that she was still on the ropes about accepting. Her first visit hadn't exactly been something she cared to remember to fondly, if at all.

So that's how she spent her time. Keeping busy with the Aurors helped her sleep better and she had gained back the weight she had lost. She was happy. She hadn't realized just how stressful it had been living in both worlds. It was like living two separate lives.

She still kept in contact with her muggle colleagues. She was still the wizard representative in MI6, though her time there had dwindled in recent years. She was currently training an Auror, Mattis, to take over for her. He only needed a few more months of training before he was ready.

Before she knew it, Christmas break was upon them and she was at Platform 9 ¾ to pick up an excited Teddy. She was almost plowed down with the force of his hug but she returned it in kind. She had missed him. Grabbing his bag, she apparated them home, knowing he would want to tell her all about Hogwarts and decorate the house, per tradition.

She wasn't disappointed. He had stories to tell, none quite as adventurous as taking on a troll but they were pretty daring especially since he had found the Marauders' Map. Fortunately, she had only received two letters from McGonagall. He was top in a few of his classes the exceptions being transfiguration and herbology. He was a natural at Charms and DADA according to the professors.

"Your godmother must have been teaching you everything you now. You are exceptionally talented at Potions, just as she was." Teddy recited what Slughorn said to him after a few weeks of class.

Rynan just stared at him when she heard that. To her knowledge, Tonks nor Remus had been particularly gifted in Potions and she had never brewed Potions at home for Teddy to learn and she sure as hell was not 'exceptionally talented' in Potions. It was great to hear though. She couldn't have been prouder.

Being in Hufflepuff was worrisome for her. He was right next to the kitchens and she knew how he could be. She would have to write McGonagall to tell the house elves to limit the amount of chocolate they give the child. She could only imagine the cavities and sugar highs he was sure to get. She had learned at a young age that too much sugar caused his abilities to start malfunctioning seeing as his focus decreased unconsciously.

They finished putting up the last decorations right as Andy arrived. They were having a small Christmas together this year before they went to the family dinner at the Weasley's. The holidays seemed to be the only time everyone could get together so Rynan made sure she could always attend them. Teddy also couldn't wait to tell Victoire all about Hogwarts. He would be the only one in the family attending school for the next two years so he had a while before they could join him.

Just like that, Christmas holidays were over and Teddy was back to school. Rynan, much to the dismay of Hermione, turned down the job offer from the Department of Mysteries. She knew she would probably like it but there were too many restrictions and no one knew exactly what was conducted within those rooms. Ron had been glad when he heard of her decision; he still had the scars from the brains.

The time she wasn't training the new Aurors was spent collecting the data Hermione had collected from her program. At her insistence, Hermione had shown her how the program worked and how to change the parameters for a new search.

She spent most evenings going over everything, which involved pulling up everything they knew about HYDRA. She had added a new room to her house that was dedicated to this research with a chalkboard spanning the far wall. While the research was geared towards finding James, she was also searching to see if HYDRA knew about their world. That was their biggest threat at the moment. They were pretty positive they didn't but they wanted to make sure. If there was any mention of witches and wizards in any of the files they found, Kingsley would be alerted and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would be put on alert as the entire ministry was interviewed.

It was towards the end of March when they felt they had all the evidence they could get on not only the attack but HYDRA's past. If they were going to do this, they were going to be prepared; they weren't going in making plans up as they went, not like what they did with Voldemort. It was fairly easy to trace HYDRA's activities throughout the decades. They just had to find the highest profile murders that were currently unsolved or surrounded in suspicious circumstances. The memories James shared with her, following the movement of ex-KGB members abroad, and known HYDRA agents simplified what would've taken years to connect. It also helped when Ron looked at the data. His mind was able to piece together strategies that were able to predict future movements. If nothing else, Ron had certainly earned his place as Head Auror with his tactical mind.

"Bloody hell!" Rynan cursed as she organized the information.

She was connecting the dots and her anger grew with every revelation. She couldn't believe that SHIELD had recruited HYDRA scientists! She knew the name Zola; how could she not when James had been captured and experimented on by him. He was a frequent occupant in his nightmares, so much so that Rynan eventually caved and asked why he recited his name and military number in his sleep. So yes, Rynan was very familiar with the name Arnim Zola.

When she tried to follow his movements after he was captured, she hit a dead end with his death in 1973. She worked her way back, trying to find any projects he had been connected to but she hit a dead end each time; the files were secured by SHIELD firewalls and encryption. They couldn't risk tipping them off so the files had to wait. She saw that he had frequent conferences in Eastern Europe for almost two decades after the war. This was where her connections to the Russian Ministry came in handy. Anton, an old acquaintance, was able to acquire the files she needed of that time period. It seems the top officials hadn't trusted the former Nazi turned American scientist and had him monitored whenever he visited. The monitoring had been a highly classified operation, only known to Stalin and later Khrushchev along with the single agent monitoring Zola. It appeared the leaders knew HYDRA was festering somewhere in their ranks. She connected Zola to no less than three bases James had remembered operating at.

Looking over the files, Rynan wanted to kiss whoever had been in charge of this operation. They were phenomenal at gathering the intelligence, placing the names and occupations of the men in the all pictures. It made her job a million times easier. She now had a web of connections that would help her take down HYDRA. If she couldn't convince others to help then she would go on a one woman crusade.


	6. Meetings, Meetings, and Introductions

They were running out of options. With every new bit of information that came to light, the trio were seeing just how deep and corrupt the system was. There was no way they could do this by themselves.

The idea to use SHIELD to help them was pitched by Ron and the other two thought it was a brilliant idea. SHIELD was stationed all across the world and had connections in all types dealing with information and technological advances. If anyone could help them take down HYDRA, it would be them.

It was also agreed upon that SHIELD would have more information on HYDRA than Hermione was able to access. Their firewalls had been updated and any recent attempt Hermione made to breech their system had been shut down.

Though it was his idea, Ron was adamant that Rynan was not to take part in the mission. He didn't trust her track record to not get in some kind of trouble.

"You're not going! I have a team of Aurors that can complete this with no problem."

Rynan groaned in frustration. She had to stop herself from pulling her hair out. "I have the connections, I have the knowledge. If we send someone else in there, they'll never believe 'em."

"Every mission you go on ends with you seriously hurt!" He turned to his wife for support. "Tell her Hermione! There's no reason for her to go."

The arguing friends considered the third member of their group when she elected not to respond immediately agreeing with her husband.

The bushy haired woman had a calculating look, her eyes darting back and forth, analyzing data only she could see. She must've found what she was looking for as she gave her husband an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Ron but Rynan has a point. SHIELD will doubt any outsider coming in. Rynan has the connections, not only in Parliament but MI6. They'll listen to her. Send an Auror as security but she needs to be the one to meet with SHIELD." She was firm, knowing how protective Ron could be over them. It was endearing but his stubbornness was truly taxing at times. It was a wonder they all survived, between the stubbornness of the three of them.

Rynan gave a triumph smirk; it wasn't often Hermione sided with her. Ron crossed his arms; he knew they were right but he also didn't like sending Rynan in to missions like this blind. They had no information about SHIELD. For all they knew, they would capture Rynan if they discovered that she was a witch or if they believed was part of HYDRA.

Rynan conceded to let an Auror accompany her. Ron would've gone himself but as Head of DMLE, it would turn heads on why he was going to America and he also couldn't leave his department for so long, especially with Rose. It wouldn't be fair to Hermione.

With the information they had gathered, though there was no evidence that HYDRA was in the Wizarding World, they knew they had to tell Kingsley. They couldn't sit on information like this hoping for the best. That was how people got killed. Hermione and Ron were taking care of that while Rynan was in the United States meeting with SHIELD.

A general meeting between intelligence agencies and SHIELD was due to take place early March and Rynan had just enough connections and blackmail to get a spot on the British convoy. Like she said, there were perks to her reputation. This also left her with enough time to make sure Teddy could come home for the Easter holidays.

Organizing everything into clearly marked folders, they spent the week before her departure rehearsing what she was going to say. Nothing could be tied back to Hermione. Unlike Ron, Hermione was still listed in the muggle records. Hermione left it up to Rynan if she wanted to disclose James' involvement and status. They still weren't sure just how deep HYDRA was. They were taking a huge risk with revealing this information to so many people but it was the only way to get to SHIELD and maintain control of the situation.

"Oh Ryn, do be careful." Hermione pleaded as she gave her friend a final hug. "And try not to make any more enemies."

Rynan promised to try as Ron brought her into his embrace. "MACUS shouldn't give you too much trouble. I double checked all your paperwork and they're valid for the next month."

Rynan pulled away, exasperation written across her face as she rolled her eyes. "This isn't my first time visiting America. I can deal with them."

"President Tagarelli is a perceptive wizard. He'll start to question why you keep coming through his country. From what I've heard, he doesn't like SHIELD. They've been inquiring about MACUSA; he's taken steps to prevent any deeper inquires but the higher ups do know about the existence of us. If he finds out you want an alliance with SHIELD he'll want to recruit you as a spy for them. SHIELD has been known to hoard information about what they deem 'abnormal'. He'll want you to find out just how deep their information on the Magical Community runs."

"You're looking at the Defeater of Voldemort here, the Woman Who Conquered. I don't think President Tagarelli has any hold to Voldemort." The arrogance coating her voice made Hermione sigh and Ron roll his eyes.

"Could you please take this seriously? If you're not careful you could cause an international incident. That would involve ICW and we don't hold much power there anymore, not since Professor Dumbledore was forced out as the Supreme Mugwamp."

Rynan felt awful. She could see the stress the two were carrying and it was because of her. She just didn't want them to worry about her. They were 30 and it feels like they still treat her like a teenager, like she would break at any given second. She didn't ask for it but she also knew they worried for her.

"I promise I'll be careful. I'll ask Bernie to tell me if he hears anything. It shouldn't be a problem since I'll be in D.C. not New York."

With her promise to be careful, the couple released Rynan. She had to meet up with Charles Oxley who was her ride to the airport. He was nearing his mid-60's now, his grey beard neatly groomed and his suits always freshly pressed. He was nothing if not presentable. He was the only delegate aware of her real identity. He had been her supervisor when she was in MI6. She had known him for the better part of the decade and it was thanks to him she was able to go. Oxley knew that there was something else going on. Rynan Potter had stepped down from MI6 for a reason, so for her to ask to participate in an international meeting with them was suspicious. He trusted her judgement and that she would tell him in time exactly what she was doing.

A black sedan pulled up to her driveway. Looking at the time, it was definitely Oxley. Taking her bag, she activated her wards as she closed the doors to her home. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too long before she was back.

/

Washington DC was everything Rynan remembered it being but she still let herself be in awe of the Presidential Monuments. D.C. hadn't been on their list of places to visit. There wasn't much to see there, magical wise. The city was almost completely muggle. She often forgot the beauty muggles could create without magic.

The convoy arrived the day before the meeting was to take place. It gave her time to go over exactly what she wanted to do and say. During this time, she also let Oxley in on her plans. She needed another set of eyes to see everyone's reaction to her news. She trusted Oxley completely with this information. In all the time she had worked with him, he had never once given her reason to doubt his commitment.

A SHIELD van pulled up outside the hotel and they were off to the Triskelion.

The purpose of the meeting was to negotiate the boundaries in which SHIELD operated within their respective countries and shared their information. While SHIELD did operate globally with a diverse nationality of employment, they were still technically an American Intelligence Agency and as such they had to operate within the limitations of the respective governments discretions.

Rynan had never interacted with SHIELD before, her duties in MI6 involving interactions between wizards and muggles and identifying any magical terrorists that may be operating as muggles.

The building was impressive but it had nothing on the Woolworth Building in New York. That was an impressive building.

They arrived with the other delegates and were led to the 35th floor.

Auror Mattis, who had replaced Rynan as the MI6 liaison, stuck close to her as they took the elevator. There were many people, each country having sent at least four people. They both knew to keep their guard up and avoid any use of magic. These people were trained to see everything so they had to be extra careful.

After formal greetings were taken care of, the meeting officially stated with the Director of SHIELD standing up.

"This meeting has been called to discuss SHIELD ability to operate in your given country. Seeing as every protocol has been signed and we work with each of your governments individually when we need to deploy agents into your respective countries, I fail to see why this has become a concern." Director Fury was direct and to the point. Rynan wondered how exactly he was put in charge of this meeting.

The Canadian representative who had introduced himself as Winifred, was the first to speak up. "While we fully cooperate with SHIELD when the situation provides, SHIELD does not always provide us with all the information. We are left guessing what is happening inside our own borders!"

Rynan leaned in to question Oxley about that. "Have they ever been in the UK?"

"Scarcely. We've been able to handle anything that pops up, nothing too dangerous. But there has been an increase in activity in other countries and SHIELD has recently crossed through the UK without prior approval and refused to state who they had been chasing." Oxley answered Rynan as he studied his colleagues. They, the UK, were here to make sure SHIELD was held responsible for actions committed in foreign countries.

"I haven't heard about that. Why didn't that make it to Parliament?" That surely would've raised voices.

Mattis was the one to answer. "It was after you had stepped down and after eventually learning the reason, it was decided to keep the information private."

"We can't afford the luxury of notifying you every time you think you need to know something. The real world isn't like that. Split second decisions need to be made for the success of the mission and consulting each official every time this happens would get my agents killed.

"That doesn't excuse omitting information from the reports you send us!"

Fury turned to regard Monsouir Pouletti. "And does DGSE release all their information to us?"

That quieted the argument as the silence was answer enough.

She was aware that SHIELD operated all over the world but that didn't mean they operated within the jurisdiction of the country they were in. There were limits to what a foreign intelligence agency could do outside their country without permission. There were actual laws prohibiting these types of actions.

There was still another day to the Intelligence Conference and she was sure she couldn't sit through another day of this back and forth. As the discussion wound down, she saw her opportunity to intervene and examine what these people knew.

"While my colleagues have made tremendous points, I must admit to being here for other reasons." Rynan drew all eyes towards her as she interjected herself over the current conversation. "I would like to know why SHIELD has not been doing anything about the continued operations of HYDRA throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East?"

Puzzled looked crossed a majority of the delegates face's as for many of them it was their first time hearing the name HYDRA, never mind what it meant.

A suspicious, searching look crossed Fury's face. HYDRA was a dead organization that no one outside of SHIELD and SSR personnel should know about.

"I'm not sure where you've been living Ms. Potter but HYDRA has been gone for decades." Fury's gaze was uncomfortable. Even with one eye, it was like he could see right through her. She'd been under worst gazes where the person could actually look at her thoughts though. You learn to ignore them; he especially didn't have any power over her. She had him though. By his reaction, he had no idea about HYDRA so she held the power now.

"That's the thing about 'spies', you always think you know everything." Rynan could see how her words effected the present SHIELD agents. They took her statement as a threat. "HYDRA is still active –How do I know this? – I had a run in with an agent trying to kill me a while back. With my own contacts, I have conducted extensive research and have confirmed multiple HYDRA bases around the world, one of which I have confirmed as operational."

Whispers broke out across the meeting room, ranging from what HYDRA was, to how could they be operating without anyone knowing, to flat out denying it. She knew many would find it hard to believe. How could a group like HYDRA operate with almost zero limitations for near 70 years?

"This is why we must have full and accurate information being exchanged. That HYDRA was able to operate and grow under all our noses, it should not have happened." Oxley spoke up over the commotion. He had been waiting for Rynan's announcement. Like her, he had studied the reactions of all those present. He hadn't seen anything suspicious when the news was announced.

Fury was now standing, leaning forward on the table. "And you believe her, that she has evidence of all this?"

"I've seen it for myself. I was also the one to oversee the investigation into her attempted murder back in 2004."

Oxley and Rynan shared a look as the Director began to speak with the woman who had been introduced as Maria Hill. She left once their conversation had finished and they knew exactly what she had been sent to do: confirm her statement.

"Would one of you like to enlighten us on what exactly this HYDRA is?"

Of course, India hadn't played a large part with HYDRA during or after the Second War.

"They were part of the Nazi Regime during the war, a science division based on making advanced weaponry. They were also discovered conducting human experimentation. They were supposedly dismantled after the war in the early years of SHIELD." Oxley supplied for those still in the dark.

Rynan knew Fury was waiting for evidence before he went any further. So she indulged him. Taking the report Oxley wrote up on her shooting and as well as the SHIELD agent's from a few months ago, she placed them in front of him. It wasn't confirmation of HYDRA but the similarities would be enough to draw his attention to the fact that something was going on.

She saw his eye scan over the findings and narrow when he came to the second page. He had just realized she had hacked their systems.

Mattis, who was aware that it was his bosses who had done the deed, hide a smile as he came to the same conclusion as Rynan.

Fury didn't want to outright accuse her with everyone still in the room. It would be damaging if he revealed SHIELD had been hacked by a foreign agency and hadn't been aware of it.

"Ms. Potter, if you'd come with me." Rynan cut him off before he could go any further. She could hear the anger in his voice. He knew he couldn't publicly arrest her in front of the other delegates. **That** would create an international incident he couldn't explain to the Security Council. No, he had to play to her game now.

"I'd actually prefer to remain here. This information involves all of us. We share a commonality. We're stronger together than we are divided against this threat."

You didn't want Nicholas Fury as your enemy, Rynan heard this multiply times from Oxley before they left. She was trying very hard not to make him her enemy but they had two conflicting personalities.

Seeing that she wasn't going to budge, Fury conceded. This also gave him time to locate his own information. He wanted to know why Rynan Potter hadn't shown up on any of their radars and how exactly she had managed to hack into their servers and steal information.

"I suggest we continue this meeting tomorrow then. I'll need my agents to verify your reports."

She tried to keep the smile off her face but she knew she had won this battle. "Good luck with that. It took me the better part of a year to get all this information."

Fury stormed out of the conference room, set on proving her wrong. He was not about to be humiliated by this girl!

"Director Fury!" He paused in his exit. "I'd start in Ukraine."

That was all the hint she was giving him. Turning to Oxley, they had plans to discuss for tomorrow. She followed him out to the waiting car that would return them to their hotel.

Once they were in the safety of their hotel room and Rynan had erected security barriers, Oxley turned to interrogate her. She wasn't supposed to have antagonized the Director of SHIELD!

"You're lucky you weren't arrested! Openly presenting evidence of clear cyber-attacks on an intelligence agency! What were you thinking!?"

Why was she being scolded like a child when she had told him exactly what she was going to do?

"Because you didn't say you had hacked SHIELD!"

"Technically," she drew out. "I wasn't the one to hack them."

Mattis let out a snort at that.

"Technically, you're an accomplice." He dropped into the chair by the desk. Rubbing his face, he could only hope that their plan had succeeded. They needed SHIELD as their ally, not them thinking they were operating against them.

Rynan took a deep breath and held it. Letting it out slowly, she moved to sit on the desk. Mattis was on the opposite wall, the perfect vantage between the door and window.

"I know what revealing that document meant. I had to see what he would do. He needs us as much as we need him. He had to see that." She ran her hand through her hair before deciding to put it in a braid. She continued speaking as she did so. "James told me he thought there might be a base here, in the city. This was the last place I had contact with him."

Mattis straightened at that. He hadn't been aware of that particular information. That meant they were likely to be attacked. Pulling out his wand, he exited the room, intent on putting up stronger detection and protection wards.

Oxley's head snapped towards her at the bit of information.

"It's one of the reasons we decided to come." Outside, she could see the light from the surrounding buildings making their way into the room. "I couldn't find anything when I was here last time. I need their help to find him."

It pained her to admit it but it was the truth. She couldn't find James by herself. She had tried and failed.

The two sat in silence as the city slept around them. They could feel the change in the tide. They were at the beginning of a war, a war they weren't sure they could win without help.

/

If there was a HYDRA mole in the meeting they would tell their commander, who she was counting on to send Bucky to finish the job. It was a long shot but this was the only way she knew to get to him.

She wasn't wrong.

There were few things that could ever surprise Alexander Pierce. Decades of intelligence and political had exposed him to many unexpected situations. Which was why Nick showing up in his office as he was leaving for the day garnered a questioning look. Typically, Nick only personally sought him out on things beyond him, which rarely happened.

The unexpected information released by the English representative, Rynan Potter, was worrying. From what little his agents could find, Nick Fury was forced to admit she was right. Which is why he found himself in Pierce's office this late at night.

Alexander Pierce knew they had made a mistake in prioritizing the retrieval of the Asset over finishing that woman off. But with her gradual withdrawal from politics, they had conceded her had got the message and left her alone. It seemed she had done more than that and had spent that time operating against them. He would not make that mistake again.

"This is troubling information, Nick. If this turns out to be correct, we'll need to conduct an internal investigation into how and why this information was overlooked." Pierce knew he had to move his agents quickly but with purpose. Fury was smart and he would need a flawless plan to get past him. "I'd like to attend this conference tomorrow. See what she has to say."

Fury agreed, knowing he could use his insight and experience.

Rynan stayed awake all night hoping HYDRA would retaliate somehow but nothing happened. She resigned herself to the meeting, preparing everything she had. She had multiple cards to play today and it needed to go flawlessly.

The anticipation hung in the air of the conference room and Rynan noticed the new arrival right away. She sent a questioning look to Oxley who informed her that he was Alexander Pierce, Undersecretary of the State Department.

Well, at least Fury was taking her claims seriously.

Needing to take back control of the meeting, Fury put his own documents on the table. His best people had been put on the case last night and it as Agent Romanoff who provided him with the name and connection they needed.

"The Winter Soldier. The assassin who tried to take out you and my agent. Over two dozen kills in the past half century. Sniper, soviet slug with no rifling, metal arm, superhuman strength, fast, efficient. My agent is the best. She wasn't his target yet she was still seriously injured. You-you were targeted yet survived. Tell me how a civilian with no training was able to survive an attack by the Winter Soldier?"

Many heads turned to her in consideration. She had to admit, she didn't look that intimidating. At 5'5", 125 lbs, she didn't stand out as frightening. She took great care to cover her scars up, not because of shame but because of the questions.

Sighing, she knew this would be a difficult meeting. She motioned for Mattis to stand down when he began to move to defend her.

"I've seen my fair share of war, Director. Just because I don't flaunt it, does not mean I don't know how to defend myself. I was knighted for a reason." Drawing from that, she stood, rolling her sleeves up so those in attendance could see the scars littering them. "I had precautions set up that stopped him from killing me. A good knock to the head also helped."

She let that sink in as she made her way around the table, picking up the discarded clicker to turn on the projector.

"Until now, many intelligence agencies have believed him to be a ghost story. In a way, they're right. He is a ghost…someone who supposedly died decades ago." James' picture was pulled up on the projector. "James Buchanan Barnes, Sergeant in the United States Marines, and member of the Howling Commandos. Presumed dead in 1945 after falling from a train on a mission to retrieve HYDRA scientist, Arnim Zola."

Voices began to speak out at what she was implying. "If he fought with Captain America that would put him well into his 90's; impossible for him to be this 'Winter Soldier'!" Monsieur Monreau exclaimed. He was somewhat familiar with the Howling Commandos, with a French citizen having been part of the group.

Fury turned to her for an explanation. It seemed he thought he had turned the tables on her. He was in for a surprise.

"In 1943, Sergeant Barnes and his unit were captured by HYDRA. The reports were classified but when Steve Rogers found his friend, he had been under Zola's care for an unspecified amount of time. Zola had been one of the scientists trying to recreate Erskine Super Soldier formula. According to what the SSR was able to get from him, James had been the only subject to survive at that point. Erskine had hypothesized that with the formula, aging would be slowed significantly. If Captain America has survived the war, we can only assume that he too would not appear to be in his 90's."

"So he succeeded in creating a super solider?"

"A bastardized version, yes. It was for this reason that the United States recruited him along with dozens of other enemy scientists to work for them." She turned her accusing glare onto the Director.

"Drastic steps were taken after the war. Tension escalated with Russian and losses had to be cut and wounds closed. I don't like it any more than you do but we were desperate." Fury conceded. There was no point in disagreeing with her when he too thought it foolish that his predecessors had trusted those men.

Oxley cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "How do you know this James Barnes is the Winter Soldier?" He was keeping her on track.

"Besides seeing him up close…he lived with me for two years." Silence permeated the room at her confession. Was she crazy? Did she not just admit to him trying to kill her?

That was it, Nick Fury knew he was dealing with a suicidal lunatic.

So that was where the Asset had been those two years. Interesting. Pierce filed away this information for later.

"Contrary to what everyone is thinking, I am not crazy or suicidal. The blow to the head I mention earlier broke a bit of the mind control he was under." Claiming a blow to the head was the reason for his regained memories was easier than explaining how she tore into his head, desperate for a memory that would make him stop. "He found his way back to me months later, confused about everything. He didn't stay but every few weeks he'd come around and I'd help him as best I could."

Electing to leave out certain details didn't hurt. She didn't trust these people and if there was a HYDRA mole she didn't want them getting too much information about what transpired during his rogue years.

Oxley gave her a stern look. She knew she had put her trust in the right man. "And you elected not to disclose this for the past six years because.."

"It was from him I learned about HYDRA. With further research and various contacts, I was able to piece together the picture. HYDRA could be anywhere and anyone."

It was unspoken that she suspected there might be a mole among them but few picked up on it.

Not everyone was as attentive it seemed. "You harbored a fugitive for months without contacting military? You willingly put millions of civilians in danger?" One of the Indian delegates accused her of.

"A fugitive that did nothing for over two years, if what Potter is saying is true." Winifred came to her defense. "It seems he has been an unwilling accomplice in all this."

"He has still killed over two dozen people! That can't be overlooked!"

Rynan threw the man her ugliest glare. It was people like him that pissed her off. They only looked at the surface and refused to look any deeper.

"So are we going to prosecute all our soldiers for following orders and killing the enemy? Are we going to go after the victims because they couldn't defend themselves as well? How far are you willing to take that thought?"

Rynan could feel her magic rise up, the static in the air becoming heavier. Mattis gave her a sharp look. The muggles could feel her magic settling around them. Reigning in her anger and magic,she turned her attention to the projector to calm down.

Pierce gave her a searching look. The heavy static presence had descended upon them suddenly as just as quickly left. It coincided with Potter's outburst. Interesting.

Fury was also giving her a searching look. Now he could see how she survived the Winter Soldier attack. She had it hidden but now he could see the evidence of fighting in a war. She was holding back information. How she held herself was not a soldier, she had been a commander.

"You have elected to avoid the question: Why are you coming forward now?"

To her surprise, it was Pierce who came to her defense. "Perhaps," he gave her another look, "Ms. Potter is hoping to protect the man, James Barnes, from accusations and persecutions of actions carried out by the Winter Soldier? She is doing what she has done for the past decade, protecting and advocating the rights of veterans. I'm sure most of you are familiar with her work back in the UK seeing as it is being implemented in the US currently?"

Rynan shot the man a thankful smile. She hadn't expected to convince him but it seemed he was more manageable than the Director…who was unusually silent.

"When I free him, he will be a free man." Mattis kept his eyes glued on the Director when his charge made her declaration. This James Barnes…he wanted to meet the man who the Woman Who Conquered defended so venomously.

Fury broke his silence. "When you free him?" Was she planning to take on HYDRA by herself? From her little performance here, he was under the impression that she was trying to get SHIELD's support in this crusade.

"Of course when. I don't do things by half Director. I will find him and I will bring him back. I just thought I would share this information with you first so you can take care of the fallout when it does happen."

Pierce chuckled. There weren't many people that could or would talk to Fury like that. She had guts, it was too bad she would never see things his way. He had underestimated her that was for sure, they all had. She was assumed to be a rich heiress, doing whatever she wanted but now he saw she was a typhoon, a walking disaster whose winds and destruction reached far. With training, he would put her up there with Romanoff in manipulating people.

"I believe we are 'ere to talk about 'YDRA." Monsieur Gauthier of France tried to bring the meeting back to order. He had grown tired of the verbal battle between Potter and the others. As far as he was concerned, she could go on her suicide mission for this James Barnes. He was more interested in HYDRA and what it meant for the world.

Pierce took this as his turn to speak. "Our agents are currently looking into all possible HYDRA activity since their assumed fall. Anything found will be compiled for Director Fury and I to examine."

Glad that the man hadn't been too arrogant to disregard her suggestion, Rynan decided that now was the perfect time to get down to business. She had said her piece on James so hopefully it resonated when she finally found him.

Drawing a map from her bag, Rynan spread it across the table, using a small amount of magic to keep it flat. To those paying attention, they could tell she had done this before, planned military strategies. "From my research I've got possible bases here, here, and here." She pointed to all Eastern European countries.

"Would you like a pointer Ms. Potter?"

"It's fine Director. I have full confidence in everyone's ability to both analyze and follow what I will be explaining with this map." Rynan could tell she was pulling a string but it was too much fun. Last time she did this much fun was with Snape in 6th year. She had so many detentions but it was worth it.

"A HYDRA base stationed in Ukraine is worrying. Even with our help, tensions are still high between Russia and its former satellites." Brandt spoke up, having been part of the talks some years ago with her.

"I am aware. The base that truly concerns me is the one here in America. This was where I lost all communications with him." It was left unspoken who the 'him' was.

If she didn't have Fury's attention before, she did now. "HYDRA infiltrating the United States Government?"

"That's all the information I have, sir. He didn't want me to follow. He remembered being in America but not where. He was hoping the memories would come back once he returned."

Brandt drew the conclusion everyone was thinking. "So he was correct that there is a base here in the States. If this was the last place he was before he disappeared, HYDRA got to him here."

"Just because this was the last point of contact doesn't mean HYDRA is operating from the US." Pierce pointed out. It did make sense but Rynan wasn't convinced. Everything was conveniently pointing away from the US and to the Eastern European countries. It's a classic move of all strategists to divert the attention away by hiding behind multiple covers.

"I'm not accusing your government of anything Undersecretary Pierce, I am merely pointing out what I know. HYDRA has been known to infiltrate governments." Rynan turned back to the map, remembering the hours she poured over similar WWII Ally maps. "Captain America and the Howling Commando's took down HYDRA bases all across Europe during the Second War."

She placed markers on all known bases from 1945 that had been taken out.

"With how big they were, I can only assume not all members were apprehended. The body of their leader, Schmidt, was never recovered."

"While this history lesson is enlightening, I want the proof that HYDRA is still operating. This could be some wild chase you Brits want to send us on while the inquiry of your governments involvement in the Iraqi War is taking place." Monreau growled. He didn't trust her, hadn't since he met her yesterday.

It had taken forever but Hermione had managed to hack into a satellite and got pictures from the Ukrainian base. Activity was highest there, it looked like they were either shipping or developing weapons. Rynan took the folder with the pictures and placed them in front of the director. These were only a few of the pictures they had gathered, they hadn't wanted to lose what upper hand they had managed to gain. They weren't sure who they could trust and they didn't want to alert HYDRA to how much they really knew. Once they had SHIELD's cooperation and trust, then she would share what they had discovered with the director.

If there was one thing that was hard to do, it was impress Nick Fury but this small English woman had managed to do just that.

"These pictures were taken on May 15. I'm no weapons expert nor counter terrorist agent but it looks like those weapons are being supplied to the Iraqi war and surrounding terrorist cells."

"And let me guess, your friend got you these pictures?" Fury sarcastically stated.

"What can I say, they're the smartest person I know. They can find anything and everything out."

"Does this person have a name?"

"Sorry. Confidentiality and everything. I don't need you guys breathing down their necks."

"I thought we were sharing?"

"We are Director. They get the information and I'm sharing it." Rynan knew she was being snarky but she couldn't help it. She spent an entire summer under Sirius' influence and this man was getting under her skin. Something just didn't feel right and she couldn't put her finger on it. Looking to Mattis, it didn't seem like he felt it.

Oxley interrupted before it could become a pissing match. "This is troubling. We all have troops over there. If the terrorists are being supplied with advanced military weapons, the war will carry on for years. They need to be stopped."

"This needs to be brought to the UN. They can take measures to organize a Ukrainian agreement so an infiltration can take place." Patel demanded as his country was closest to the war.

"The UN would take forever and there could be a mole there to alert HYDRA that their cover has been blown. This needs a team of skilled individuals to go in and take them out."

"Let me guess, a team of SHIELD agents?" Rynan gave a sarcastic laugh.

"As a matter of fact, I want you to lead the operation. I have read about your exploits when you were younger. They would be perfect for this mission." He was finally recalling who she was. Rynan Potter, youngest person ever knighted for her efforts in taking down a terrorist when she was 17. She had led her entire school against the group and came out victorious.

That stunned everyone in the meeting. They were under the impression that Fury didn't like Rynan, with the feeling mutual on the other end.

"I don't do that anymore." Her voice had gained an edge. She had spent the past decade trying to put that behind her. She wasn't ashamed of what she did but she hated that her generation had lost so much.

Brandt spoke up, wanting to dissolve the tension and conclude the meeting. "I propose that until we are certain of no HYDRA moles, this information stays between us. A sweep of our government and intelligence units will take place before our superiors can be notified."

"And if they are HYDRA?" questioned the Canadians.

"We take them out." Stone cold, there was no options for fighting him on this.

Rynan shrugged when everyone turned for her objection. She had seen what these people had done to James, she wasn't in the mood to defend them.

"We will meet again once the operation in Ukraine has been complete?" Oxley inquired.

"Yes. We'll be putting together a special task force with the specific mission of taking down HYDRA." Pierce promised. This changed everything for him. The timetable had been disrupted. With the knowledge that HYDRA still lived, Fury would make it his mission to see them taken down. This provided him with the perfect opportunity to get rid of Rynan though.

As the delegates were exiting, some stopping to talk to each other in more discussion, Piece pulled Rynan to the side.

"I would like to speak to you Ms. Potter, in my office if it's not too much of an inconvenience?" No one ever accused him of lacking any charm.

"Of course Undersecretary Pierce." Rynan motioned for Mattis and Oxley to go on ahead. Mattis hesitated but continued on when Rynan shook her head.

"Please, call be Alexander. I have a feeling we might be seeing a lot of each other in the coming months." He shot her a disarming smile.

Rynan smiled back, he kind of reminded her of Remus. "Call me Rynan then. What did you want to talk about?"

"Not here. Let's wait until we get to my office." They entered the elevator and Pierce stated his floor number. He had to override for Rynan to be there. He laughed when he saw her expression at the technology.

"Are they that behind over in England?" He joked. He knew the Triskelion had the most advanced technology available so she had likely never seen anything quite like this.

"No, I'm a bit old fashion. I didn't grow up with a computer or cell phone and my boarding school didn't allow electronic devices. It's fascinating to see what people have been able to do since I graduated." Her eyes greedily took in the view the elevator provided of the city below them. Pierce could tell she was a person who enjoyed heights if her expression was anything to go by.

"It is something else. My niece seems to know how to work all the new gadgets before I do. The world is advancing, I can't imagine what we'll be creating in five years." At the ding, Pierce gestured for Rynan to exit first.

"This is an amazing view. You can see the whole city from up here!" Rynan's eyes were drawn to the glass wall behind his desk. She eyes were able to scan the rest of his office as she made her way in though.

"It is a beautiful site. If you could take a seat." Piece gestured to the seat across from his desk as he waited for her to take it before taking one himself. "I wish to talk about Fury's proposal. I would like you to accept his offer. Coming from Nick, that's the closest thing to a compliment you will get."

"Really, he seemed to hate me, then again I have been wrong before." Actually, she hadn't been wrong. Snape was just protecting her because of an oath.

Pierce tried to explain his friend to her. "Nick doesn't trust people, don't take it personally. It comes with the job."

"It's kinda hard not to take it personally."

"And that's why he chose you for the mission. You're not afraid to stand up, your information is unparalleled, and you command respect from those around you without even realizing it."

Rynan was baffled by what Pierce was talking about.

"Nick was leading the conference until you decided to speak up. From there, all the questions and answers were filtered though you."

Yes, he had seen her in the conference and was amazed at her ability. She could barely be out of her 20's yet she commanded the meeting like she was a seasoned general. He could see why Oxley had brought her with him. She would be an asset to an intelligence agency, especially if what he remembered out her was true. That she wasn't part of MI6 anymore. She had done most of that work without the help of the English Intelligence Agency.

"No. I just had the information, that's why."

"I haven't met someone like you in a long time, Rynan. If I knew you wouldn't reject me, I would offer you a place in SHIELD right now."

"I'm flattered sir, but I have my own mission."

"To find the Winter Soldier." Pierce looked at her, really studying her. All 5'5, long midnight hair, and emerald eyes. She didn't look like much but then again neither did Natasha. "It won't be easy. If what you say is true, he won't remember you."

"I'll make him remember." There was such conviction in her voice that Pierce didn't doubt, given the time, she would take back the Asset. That was why she needed to go on this mission.

"What better way to help then to take down the HYDRA base. Someone there is bound to have information on him and all information gathered will be directed to you."

That really surprised Rynan. When she first met the man, she thought he would be exactly like Fury but she was liking him more and more. He also made a convincing argument.

"I'll do it but I want your word that the information will be passed to me after it's been processed; no tampering, all the original documents."

"I can see why you have amassed such a loyal following. You have my word. I shall inform Director Fury of your agreement and a mission report will be sent out as soon as the agents in question return."

/

Pierce sends the Asset to Ukraine with strict orders to kill Rynan Potter. It didn't matter if there were witnesses, as long as it was done.

When SHIELD and the other countries find out that the Winter Soldier killed Rynan, the girl who venomously defended him, they would give up any sympathy they had for him and see the true might of HYDRA.

He wasn't expecting Fury to send Romanoff and Barton but Pierce knew Fury didn't want to take any chance with this.

Two days after the meeting, Romanoff, Barton, Potter and four other agents departed for Ukraine. They were debriefed and sent out on the Quinjet before the sun even rose on the second day.

Rynan felt awkward being there with the agents. It wasn't that this was foreign to her, it was that these weren't the people whom she fought with and trusted with her life. They didn't go through all the troubles she did with Ron and Hermione.

Natasha was the one to approach her, slightly offsetting the other agents.

"Hey Potter. That was some pretty clean work with the Russians back in '04 and '08. What's your secret; how'd you get on the team with not even five years of experience?"

Rynan chuckled, she knew what Natasha was trying to do, Ginny used to use the same tactic.

"I have a friend who taught me Russian and Bulgarian when I was 14." A few language spells also helped. "We would discuss the politics in his home country in our down time when I would visit. His father was high up in their Ministry and was part of the transition movement when Bulgaria rejected communism for democracy." She had actually used a mild Confundus charm on the officials on both sides to get the fighting to stop because each side was starting to use dirty tricks, the one with the children was the tipping point for her. No one had realized as she had been the only magical at the meetings.

"Вы свободно?"

"Я немного ржавый , но я могу управлять."

Barton smiled when he heard nothing but Russian fill the Quinjet and the other agents try to inconspicuously move away from the two women. Honestly, Natasha wasn't that bad, just don't piss her off.

Rynan was thankful for Natasha, she had eased her nerves and had given her information about Bucky. Apparently, it had been her who had been protecting the nuclear scientist when the Winter Soldier killed him with a shot through her abdomen. Natasha understood why Rynan was defending the ghost assassin, she reminded her of Clint in that aspect: willing to give a stranger a chance, not caring about their past. Fury had also given her the mission to gain Rynan's trust through any means necessary.

They were twenty minutes out when Natasha began explaining the specifics of the mission and everyone's job. Clint was their eyes in the sky, Natasha would sneak in with Rynan. Once in, they would split, Natasha to take out controls while Rynan went for information. The others were to incapacitate the HYDRA agents while trying to leave at least one alive for interrogation.

Both women were amazed at the others ability. Natasha was under the impression that Rynan was a civilian, albeit a very rich civilian. While Rynan was in awe of Natasha's ability to take out their opponents; she had never seen someone fight like that before. She wasn't even sure some of that was physically possible!

"When we get out of here, you need to show me that." Rynan demanded when she saw Natasha work with her wire and Black Widow Bites.

"You have to tell me how a civilian can move as quietly as you first." Rynan wasn't making any noise when she ran or walked, something that impressed Natasha as even she made a little noise.

"It comes with raising a kid as mischievous as Teddy." Rynan laughed. In truth, Bucky had taught her how to move so silently. He wanted her prepared in case he ever relapsed. It also helped that she put silencing charms on her shoes.

"This is where we split. Channel 7 secure."

"Channel 7 secure."

"Give 'em hell."

Natasha just gave her a smirk before sauntering away. Rynan breathed out a laugh, yes, Ginny would love her.

It was time to get serious. Pulling out her wand, Rynan cast a 'Point Me' for the direction of the research wing. Hopefully, there would be folders there. The Winter Soldier program had been around too long to have been initiated and kept on computer. She found the room and with a quick Alohamora, she was in. "Accio James Barnes folder."

It was worth a shot but nothing came towards her. "Accio Winter Soldier Program." Still nothing came. So it was the hard way. Good thing it looked like HYDRA liked organization. All the folders were categorized by dates. Unfortunately, the folder in question wasn't there. She did find some interesting information though. There were some recent programs that were authorized by the top of HYDRA. It seemed there were different divisions with different leaders. It seemed all paper based information had been stopped around the beginning of the 90's but there were still folders with experimental information.

"The folders not here but there is some curious information. I'm heading to the rendezvous."

A series of 'secure' resounded from the com-link. Rynan was still cautious making her way out; she didn't survive a war just to die here. She made it out before Natasha but after the other agents. Surprisingly, there were quite a few HYDRA agents taken alive. She was able to make out at least five agents tied up.

She was barely out the door when two rifle slugs tore through her chest. She fell ungracefully to the ground, the power behind the shots blowing her back at least two feet back into the doorway. All she felt was pain, it wasn't as bad as the Cruciatus Curse but it was up there; that was her last conscious thought before she lost conscious.

From the Quinjet, Clint was speechless. He had went over the perimeter thoroughly, no one could've gotten past him!

"Potter's down!" Clint was yelling into the mic a split second later, frantically searching for any sign of the shooter; the trajectory originated from the east so the shooter made the shot against the wind. The agents on the ground immediately fanned out, weapons at the ready while two rushed towards Rynan.

The first one to reach her immediately took her pulse and checked her breathing and responses. His fingers probed her chest, looking for the entrance wounds. He found the two wounds, blood now coating her entire torso along with his hand. He tore her ruined shirt off, needing access to her chest to treat her. It wasn't good. He didn't know how much more blood she could lose before they lost her.

"She needs emergency evac. Put pressure on it here." The first agent, Engelward, commanded his partner. "Barton, she needs to get out of here!"

By this time, Natasha had come running out. She knelt beside the English woman, looking her over. "Do you have eyes on the shooter?!"

"No, I don't see anything. I did a full sweep." The frustration was clear in Clint's voice. Natasha could tell he was blaming himself for this one. He was responsible for the perimeter sweep but she didn't know the Winter Soldier like she did.

"It was him." She knew exactly who had been sent. It just confirmed that there was a mole somewhere. This mission was kept between only those in the conference and the mission members. He was called in because HYDRA knew Rynan would be here; it was a set up from the start.

She pulled out her anesthetic injection and injected it into Rynan. "Clint, we need the Quinjet. Sontag, Moirz, and Dewey will stay and secure the base until reinforcements can come." She ripped off the rest of Rynan shirt; unlike the other agents, she had forgone their uniform and wore her own with a light bullet proof vest over it. The vest had done nothing to stop the rifle slugs from ripping through her chest.

"Don't jostle her chest too much." Engleward advised Clint who had just landed the Quinjet and rushed out to help carry Rynan aboard while Natasha took over controls. He had already radioed into Fury with the situation and to expect them at the nearest hospital. There wasn't time to get her to a SHIELD facility.

"Change into civilian clothes. We don't want to draw any more attention." Natasha ordered from her pilot seat. They were already in route to the nearest emergency hospital where an undercover SHIELD agent had been stationed.

Luckily, Engelward had past medical training and was able to remove the bullets which had barely missed her heart and lungs. He had just finished removing the last bullet when Natasha landed them on the roof. There was a team of doctors prepped to take her into surgery.

Clint left everything in Engelward and Natasha's hands, flying back to the HYDRA base to control the situation and see if he could find any evidence of the shooter.

Engelward followed the team into surgery to provide insight on what he did and her vitals throughout the trip.

Natasha stood guard outside the room.

Rynan was only in surgery for 45 minutes. Engelward had done most of the work, but the doctors were working on stopping the internal bleeding.

He came out to stand with Natasha when the surgeons were stitching Potter up.

"Two slugs in the chest, with both missing all vital organs. I thought the Winter Soldier never missed?"

"He doesn't." Her mind went to the scar that was still healing from a year ago.

Two to the chest, nonfatal if treated in time. This wasn't the Soldiers M.O. so maybe Rynan triggered something in his memory. Like his mind was rebelling against the actions of his body enough to stop the fatal shot.

She was stabilized enough to be moved a few hours later. She was loaded onto the Quinjet with the three of the four agents that had accompanied them on the mission. Moirz was staying behind to oversee the relocation of information from the HYDRA base. All the electronic data had already been recovered but Fury wanted everything.

Rynan was flown into the Royal London Hospital for recovery. She was taken in for an MRI to make sure all the bullet fragments had been removed and no organ damage had been missed. She was put in an isolated ward with no outside visitors but family.

Hermione and Ron rushed to the hospital when her hand on their clock moved from mortal peril to hospital. Hermione was able to quickly locate her and they had no choice but to bring Teddy with them as they were watching him since Rynan was supposed to be back yesterday for the holidays. Ron was holding little Rose tightly in his arms as Teddy followed between the two adults.

It didn't take much to get to her, a few looks and well placed words had the hospital staff making way for the couple.

Hermione was the first to notice Natasha standing guard outside Rynan's room. The couple stopped, maneuvering Teddy behind them.

"I assume you're the mysterious friend with all the information?" Though it was phrased as a question, everyone knew it was just formalities.

"And you're an agent of SHIELD. Now that that's out of the way, what happen to my best friend?" Hermione demanded with a venom rarely shown. She hadn't been this frightened in years. The moment Rynan's hand moved to mortal peril, she had dropped her tea cup, not even registering as it shattered on the floor as she rushed to get Ron. Honestly, it felt like her heart had stopped beating for a few moments.

Teddy broke away from the group to look at the window to his godmother's room. He had never seen her so still before. It frightened him.

He didn't even wait for permission, he rushed into the room, only stopping when he reached her side.

The adults didn't stop him, this allowing them an opportunity to talk freely. "She was right; there is a mole. HYDRA knew we were coming and sent the Winter Soldier in to take her out. His shots missed all her vitals."

"I told you we should've went with her!" Ron turned to his wife, conscious of disturbing Rose. He hadn't wanted Rynan to go into this alone, they were better as a unit.

"Honestly Ronald, she's a grown woman. You can't make decisions for her." Natasha got the feeling this was a common argument between the two. "So he remembered her? Everything on the Winter Soldier states his kill rate at 100%, he never misses." She had turned back to the SHIELD agent with the question.

"No one saw him but I was thinking the same."

"Where are my manners? I'm Hermione Weasley and this is my husband, Ronald. That is Teddy, Rynan's godson."

It was easy to see they were Rynan's friends. They all held themselves the same. Natasha was sure what to think of Potter's 'family'. They were just as strange and unusual as her.

"I'll leave her in your hands but Director Fury will be around when she wakes up. He'll want to question her." It wasn't usual Fury questioned people himself but this wasn't the usual case Natasha had to concede. She left the ward to join up with her partner who needed reassurance that this wasn't his fault. He was good but Yasha was always going to be better.

"Thank goodness Molly is visiting Charlie in Romania." Hermione tried to lighten the mood but there wasn't much to be done. They hadn't forgotten what it felt like to have lost Rynan. It haunted them for months, seeing her dead body carried out of the Forbidden Forest by Hagrid.

They joined Teddy in waiting for their friend to wake up. Hermione ran a few diagnostic spells to make sure everything was okay; they all came back positive. At least it looked like the physicians knew what they were doing. She was still going to have her checked out at St. Mungos once she was discharged though.

/

The Winter Soldier made his way back to base, his mission complete or so he told his handlers. For some reason he couldn't get those green eyes out of his head. He knew those weren't kill shots. Just remembering those eyes brought flashes of emotions he had never felt before. He had to find her.

Luckily, his next mission was to assassinate Charles Oxley, the representative of the United Kingdom in the intelligence agreement. HYDRA didn't want to take any chances that Rynan had given him her information she had collected.

His team flew to London, where Oxley was staying until his team was called back to the States. This hit wasn't to follow his usual methods. This one was to send a message. Before he killed the man, he heard the last of his phone call: Rynan Potter was at the Royal London Hospital in the Trauma Unit.

That would be his final stop before he headed back to base. Something was bugging him to go to her like an itch he couldn't ignore. Normally he could ignore it but it was too strong. He had to see her.

When he saw her and a blue haired kid, he felt like he was missing something, someone else should be with her. He didn't have much time to observe them; someone would notice his presence.

After he left the hospital, he made his way back to base, inner turmoil raging within. Flashes of events he didn't remember were bombarding him. Emotions were rising up that he never remembered experiencing. He felt like he was someone…someone other than the Asset. Like he had been human once.

He didn't want to lose these feelings.

When he made it back to the base, he was escorted to his chair for repairs. He knew what would happen next, he would forget. He had a flash of his last wipe, of the pain, the screaming, the desperation.

Everything finally made sense when he mind conjured a long forgotten memory and little pieces started to come back to him. He knew his target. She had helped him become human, helped him…escape? She had done so much for him and he did that to her, he put those bullets in her chest, he put her in the hospital!

Guns were drawn against him but he didn't even notice. The memories were coming back. Green. Everything was centered on her eyes. Those eyes, how could he forget those eyes? They were the most calming thing he could think of. Never once did they look at him with disgust or fear. There was only understanding and love. A pair of crystal blue eyes joined the emerald green in his memory: Steve.

He could feel his heart racing, sweat gathering on his brow as he struggled to hold on to these, to not let them take away his life again. He knew these were important and he wouldn't let them take them away again. He eyes stared forward, unseeing, as his mind and body struggled against one another. He wanted to kill them but he couldn't, they were his handlers, he had to protect them.

"Mission report!" Pierce knew it was a risk to send the Asset in but he needed to see if the programing was still operational. With the revelation of his whereabouts when rogue, he needed to make sure his Asset wasn't compromised. He would need another mind wipe and conditioning when he was needed again. Hopefully, with Potter out of the way they wouldn't have any problems with him.

Bucky refused to answer him. He knew exactly who his handler was and this would be his last act of defiance. He wasn't stupid; there was no way he could make it out of here alive. He was weaponless and his arm was being rewired. He had just enough strength and cognitive awareness that he swore he would protect her as much as he could. They would not discover his failure until it was too late.

As Pierce gave the order, Bucky continued to stare defiantly at the man. It was unnerving for the surrounding people but Pierce wasn't fazed. He knew the Asset couldn't do anything, it was against his programming and his own wellbeing.

Bucky clung to the memory of Rynan's eye's and her smile, desperately, as if it was the last thing he would ever see. He couldn't forget her again!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we are caught up with fanfiction.net. From now on, the posts should be simultaneous.


	7. What's A Name Among Friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rynan is in recovery and has an interesting discussion with an unexpected face. HYDRA makes its move now they have to make theirs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was murder and did not want to be written. There was a whole other half that was supposed to be here but with the struggle, I just decided to stop here.
> 
> Next chapter we finally get to see more of SHIELD and familiar faces as move on!

Waking up in the hospital was not a pleasant experience. Of all her trips to the hospital through out her life, this was by far the worst. Her wounds were so severe, even magic couldn't speed up the process. The Healers at St. Mungo's deferred to the physician's orders; they could give her potions for the pain but that was the extent of their help. The muscle needed to grow back on its own and while they could help it along, it would still take time.

The Healers had her left arm in a tight sling and a regiment of potions to take for her external injuries.

It hurt to breath, it hurt to move, everything just hurt.

The next time she saw James, she promised to return the favor. This was the second time she had been in the hospital because of him. It was a pattern she wasn't counting on repeating.

"Hermione, when can I leave?" she wasn't whining but if she had to stay one more day, she would lose her mind.

Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend, it had been a little over a week since the attack and her healing was progressing smoothly. The doctor's wanted her external injuries to heal up before sending her home, less risk of an infection. She relayed this to Rynan for what felt like the dozenth time.

There was an argument simmering just below the surface but both knew now was not the time for it, this being the reason Ron had only stopped by a few times.

"Give me magic any day. Bullet wounds hurt like hell."

"Apposed to being tortured with a torture curse." Hermione quipped sarcastically.

Rynan conceded the point but didn't give up her argument, "At least the effects are temporary. I have to deal with this for weeks!" she motioned to her bound arm.

"Just be thankful they weren't a few centimeters closer or else you'd be dead."

Rynan was getting up from her bed, careful with her arm, "The first thing I'm doing is making bullet proof armor!"

Hermione held her tongue, instead, standing back ready to help if she needed it.

Rynan paused to catch her breath, her chest pulling in pain. She knew how lucky she was to be alive. In those few seconds of consciousness she had after she was shot, she really believed she was dead.

She gave her friend a sheepish smile as her black hair fell into her face. "Can you-?" she motioned to the birds nest. There was no way she could deal with her hair herself.

Hermione moved behind her, careful hands carding through the tangled mess, working out the knots as she weaved it into a tight braid. It was a nice silence, giving them time to think and just relax in each other's presence.

She'd have to cut her hair. It'd be a few weeks until she had use of both arms and she couldn't deal with her long hair with one hand.

She felt a pang of sorrow, just another thing she'd have to get used to.

/

The day she was released, Ron and Hermione broke the news of Oxley's death. They had planned on telling her earlier but with everything, there just wasn't a good time to tell her.

Ron handed her the newspaper with the announcement as Hermione launched into explanation.

"He was found a few hours after your surgery. There was no attempt to cover it up." She exchanged glances with her husband, "We think it was a message."

Rynan stared at the two weeks old newspaper, unable to throw it away. "MI6 Secretary, Charles Oxley, Found Murdered Days After Returning from an Intelligence Summit in the United States!"

"Cain is acting Head of MI6 for the moment and he's coming down hard on the investigation. He wants the culprit caught...immediately. It's a witch hunt."

Rynan barely acknowledged her comment, eyes glued to the newspaper picture of Oxley. "Does he know about me?"

They hesitated, "Yes" Hermione started, "He wants you to keep your distance. He believes you overstepped your authority and Charles, in poor judgement, aided you."

"What does Kingsley think?" Had she wasted the opportunity she had been given?

"Well, he doesn't disagree with Cain but he thinks it would be a good idea if you took a step back. You're not an Auror; you don't have the proper training."

Rynan's shoes remained untied as she processed this new information.

She had been so sure, so confident that she could pull this off. She had been arrogant, underestimating her enemy and now she had to deal with the consequences. They had been so wrong...they couldn't do this by themselves and they shouldn't. There was more at stake than James. This was HYDRA, an organization willing to kill whomever got in their way.

Why was it always the people she cared about paying for her mistakes?

"Have you heard anything from SHIELD?"

She couldn't see them letting the assassination of a high ranking intelligence officer go so easily.

"We haven't heard anything. Cain has all communication going directly through him. Director Fury wanted to speak with you but we had you transferred here before he could."

All their asses were on the line with this serious mishap. They had to tread lightly with what they did next. Ron's position was still in a trial period and there were many looking for any excuse to sack Hermione. All of that not even considering Rynan wasn't officially part of the Ministry of Magic anymore, not even in a diplomatic position.

Silence settled over the trio as they contemplated their next course of action. Mattis was the senior most Auror in the muggle world. Kingsley would look to him for direction on their next course of action. There was no telling if HYDRA had infiltrated the magical world and they needed to be prepared if they had. They clearly had people in high places but how high?

Hermione hesitated, moving behind Rynan to put her hair up, "There's something else. Kingsley has ordered Ron and myself to distance ourselves from this. It won't reflect well on the Ministry if it was discovered what we did."

"He's put Mattis in charge of the operation. He's a good Auror, he'll handle the operation and report to Kingsley directly." It wasn't his best moment as Mattis was under his command and he was being bypassed. His pride had taken a beating when that was announced.

Years of research and planning and it was for nothing. They had failed and were being pushed out. How did it come to this? They were losing, losing all the cards they held. No one was supposed to die, not for the mission, not for her. She had been too arrogant, too sure of herself. She had thought since it was muggles they were dealing with, it wouldn't be too hard. Now look where she was - being discharged from the hospital after two weeks with multiple weeks of healing, kicked off her operation, and reduced to the sidelines.

They had assumed there was a mole at the meeting, were planning on it to flush James out. HYDRA wanted Rynan silenced, why go after someone who didn't know anything? That was their thought process. But Oxley knew something, enough to worry HYDRA, enough to make a statement. His death was on them.

She had known Oxley for years, since before she worked in Russia on the diplomatic intervention in 2004. He had helped ease her into the political world, becoming similar to a mentor as she navigated the foreign world at such a young age. From day one, Oxley knew exactly who she was and refused to treat her any differently than his other agents. She had come to discover that all high ranking MI-6 agents were aware of the magical world, the prime minister putting them on high alert in 1996 and 1997, when Voldemort and his followers were attacking muggles across the UK.

Arm in a sling and bag full of potions, Rynan exited St. Mungo's with her friends, conflicted and in more pain than she had entered. She would take the physical pain over guilt any day.

/

Her home was currently roped off as the ministry took care of warding to stop muggles from entering or even being aware of her house. They would know it was there but they would forget why they were there, similar to Hogwarts. So for the time being, she was moving into Grimmauld Place once again.

It was the same dark and dank place she remembered over a decade ago. Kreature had long since passed, his old soul finding peace with the knowledge that his Master Regulus' legacy had been saved and he was seen as a hero.

Now, the house was just full of miserable memories. Memories of her godfather trapped in his hell for a year, memories of anger and injustice. Of anxiety and fear when they were on the run.

There was a reason she avoided this place for so long.

She waved off Ron and Hermione's worried looks as she led them out of the house. The entrance hall still held the portrait of Mrs. Black so they dared not argue with her.

The door shut and Rynan felt like it was a death sentence. Was this how Sirius felt when he was forced to live here? It might as well have been for him. The progress Mrs. Weasley had made wasn't even noticeable as the lack of upkeep over the last decade had restored the house to pre-Order cleanliness. Dust hung in the air, filling her lungs with every breath. She was sure the doxies had migrated down into the kitchen, and there was a high probability there was a boggart upstairs if the rattling was anything to go by.

She passed the portrait of Mrs. Black, carefully opening the curtains to gaze at the once high-society witch. Kreature had been her only company in his final years so she was sure to know about the downfall of her family. In a sense, they were quite similar: the last of a once great line. She was the last of the Potter's and the name was sure to die out with her. Mrs. Black had to watch as the last of her son's died young and childless, no male alive to carry on the Black name.

Gazing into the emaculated painted face, Rynan knew she knew. And she could see the mother in those eyes. At the end of his life, Sirius held no love for his dearly departed mother and the feeling was clearly mutual but she knew that deep down, they had once held a love for each other. No words were spoken but Rynan left the curtains open as she made her way upstairs, hand almost caressing the banister in remembrance.

She had many memories here with her godfather, both good and bad. She had a summer to glimpse a life she could've had, a life that was ripped away twice.

She stepped onto the second floor landing, eyes darting to the engraved name Regulus Arcturus Black. She really wished Sirius could've known his brother hadn't died a coward like he thought.

The irony that she ends up in this house after what happened. She had led Sirius to his death as well. What was one more to the list?

The newspaper was still clutched in her hand, Oxley's face gazing out intensely at her from the front page.

No one else was going to die for her mistakes.

/

With her freshly cut hair, Rynan set out to make her time at Grimmauld Place as comfortable as possible. She was limited in her activity because of her arm but she still had her magic. She avoided the study, knowing a boggart was most likely in there, and focused her efforts on the kitchen, entrance, and living area. Familiar grey eyes followed her movements as she effortlessly flicked her hand, moving objects into place and cleaning entire areas. It took her a day to get the kitchen back up to shape and another day for the living area and entrance.

She was getting better and better at wandless and nonverbal magic. Her time traveling the world and learning new magic having paid off; her magic becoming like a fifth limb. She still required her wand for stronger spells but everything else was effortless on her part.

Opening the curtains and cleaning the dirt and age from the walls really opened up the house. Rynan was half convinced that she was living in a completely different house. She stood in the entrance way, admiring her hard work. She hadn't used magic like that in a while and it was exhilarating, almost addicting, the joy of using magic so inanely, so purposefully, so continuancely.

"It has been decades since my house has looked like this."

Rynan started, the voice of Walburga Black unexpectedly sincere as her portrait took in what it could.

"The House of Black always demanded respect and admiration. Grimmauld Place was the envy of high society while I was alive." Nose raised high, Rynan was reminded of the woman screaming of filth and mudbloods dirtying her halls.

Humming, Rynan didn't doubt that. From what Sirius told of his childhood, everything was about image.

"The Fall of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. Your children are dead, there is no one to carry on the name, no one that wants to carry on the name."

She wasn't trying to pick a fight with the portrait but she couldn't understand how this woman could ignore her children, think that Voldemort was what was best for them, how she could blast Sirius off the family tree when he was 16. For her, it was better if the name was forgotten by society.

"Black blood will always be superior." she sneered at the young half-blood, "The Black family will never be forgotten."

No, they wouldn't, because in the end, they fought for the right side. They died doing what was right. The family had turned on tradition.

Sirius, Regulus, Andromeda, Narcissa, even Draco. They had all took a stand against Voldemort, a personal stand. And Rynan owed them her life. So she would make sure history remembered them kindly even if the name was lost.

Rynan smiled sadly at Sirius's mother. What it must be like to watch the world grow and age around you, forever bound to a portrait, unable to do anything. To watch your family die off, holed up in an abandoned house, forsaken by the word, forgotten by society. If Rynan didn't know her, she'd feel sorry for her.

"Your screams echoes throughout the house at night. Those nightmares that plague you...were they worth it?"

Were a few nightmares worth saving the wizarding world? Yes.

But Walburga didn't know what her nightmares were about now. She had long since come to terms with those involving the war. Her nightmares were about phantom shooters, slugs ripping through her chest, looking James in the eye as he kills her or vice versa. Fears that she would never be able to save him.

"My - son," she grimaced as she said those words, "made you his heir. You hold the future of the Ancient and Most Noble Black family in your hands."

Rynan leaned against the wall, not really believing what the pureblood was implying.

"You want me to take the Black name."

"You don't need to take the Black name - it became your name when Sirius designated you his heir. This house isn't the only thing you inherited." When she wasn't screeching, she actually had a nice voice to listen to, Rynan noticed.

This wasn't the first time she had been asked about continuing her family line and she knew it wouldn't be the last. She wouldn't bring a child into this world just to continue 'tradition'. She wanted someone she loved and who loved her back. She had believed she had found it with Fred but the war tore that away.

"I'm not planning on having children. The lines will die with me."

A snarl ripped across the painted face, "YOU WILL NOT END CENTURIES OF TRADITION! OF PURITY!"

Right arm gripping her left, Rynan gazed at her, "The old pureblood families are gone, only a handful remain. It'll be better for our world to let these names go into history."

Saying her part, Rynan walked away, needing to take her potions. Shouting and threats followed her up the stairs. She didn't need children, she had Teddy.

/

The next morning found Ron flooing into the kitchen, newspaper clutched tightly in his hand.

Morning tea at her lips, Rynan stared at her friend in surprise. He should be at work by now, not visiting her. Hand dropping slowly, she took the offered paper, reading the headline of The Times.

Marc Pouliotte, Head of DGSE, Confesses to Murder of Charles Oxley Moments Before Taking His Life

The report went on to expose his workings with the Underworld and ties to foreign security leaks. His financials marked him as placing the hit on Oxley, the theory that he was under investigation for laundering information to the highest bidder and Oxley was closing in on him.

Oh, if only they knew the truth.

"Bloody coward killed himself after confessing to the murder." Ron grabbed a warm biscuit from the counter to munch on, "What's omitted is what he said before taking cyanide."

Rynan rolled her eyes as Ron took another biscuit without asking.

"Make yourself at home Ronald; go ahead and eat my breakfast Ronald. Good morning, how are you Ronald?"

Pausing, mouth half full, her friend sheepishly pulled out a chair and swallowed what was left of his biscuit.

"S'rry." He wiped his hands on his pants, brushing the crumbs away. He paused mid-brush, finally taking in the kitchen. "Blimey! Are we still in Grimmauld Place?"

It was nice to know that after so many years, Ron hadn't changed much.

"Yes, I've had nothing else to do the past few days. I needed a distraction."

Awkwardly shifting in his seat, Ron focused in on the newspaper again, clearing his throat. Nodding to the paper, he answered his earlier question.

"As he killed himself, he said 'Cut off one head and two more shall take its place; Hail HYDRA'."

That wasn't surprising. Many HYDRA agents captured declared the same. What was the interesting part was the fact that HYDRA declared itself. Why not stick with plausible deniability? Were they planning to cause discord, distrust among allies? Fear on who and where they'll strike?

It was too neat, too planned. Pouliotte hadn't needed to confess to being the mole, he could've killed himself first. He had waited for a reason. There had to be a reason.

Ron shifted closer to her, blue eyes intense as he gazed at his oldest friend, "There's more."

Green eyes met blue and Rynan knew whatever Ron had to say was serious.

"Kingsley doesn't trust anyone but us. He wants you to infiltrate SHIELD, gather all the information you can on it and HYDRA. He thinks they've already infiltrated the magical society."

Her scarred hand gripped the cooled tea mug, emotions racing through her body. Doubt took over her thoughts as pain raced across her chest.

Was she ready to do this?

·


	8. Growing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha takes center stage and Rynan gets asked out

**_"Neighbor Reveals All! Dame Potter's Mysterious Male Companion…Did He Break Her Heart?"_ **

**_"Dame Rynan Potter Pregnant? She had been avoiding the public for the last 5 months"_ **

**_"The Woman Who Conquered Appears in Diagon Alley for the First Time in Months As She Shops for Her Godson Who Begins his Second Year at Hogwarts" page 3: Remus and Nymphadora Lupin - The scandal, the love, the tragedy; page 6: Rynan Potter and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; page 8: Is she working for the Ministry and secretly hunting down Death Eaters?_ **

**_///_ **

It was now 2011, four years since she had vowed to rescue James. It had been a long and tiring four years - a death scare in there somewhere - and she still didn't feel any closer to finding him.

She couldn't understand how someone could literally disappear from the face of the planet. Nothing she did with magic worked and nothing from SHIELD indicated HYDRA was using him.

In her darker moments, Rynan entertained the thought that HYDRA had killed James, disregarded him as a broken weapon. She didn't let those thoughts linger. It was only a feeling, an instinct, but she knew James was alive somewhere out there. The chances were highly improbable but that was her life; she was the definition of impossible! Giving up, admitting defeat...it wasn't in her nature. She would take the world apart to find him.

Her work with SHIELD had provided many benefits for both sides. After a few months working with SHIELD, Rynan was happy to report that only a select few were privy to the knowledge of the magical world and she could name them on one hand. Kingsley was thankful for this and released her from this mini assignment, confessing that it was up to her if she wanted to remain at SHIELD.

Oddly enough, she found a little niche in the intelligence agency. She worked with a similar team from her first mission. Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton were two of the best agents SHIELD had to offer and they were paired with her on any mission concerning HYDRA she had. It was obvious what Fury was doing and he knew Rynan knew his motive. Their relationship had never really settled from their first meeting and had seemed to only go further downhill after news of Oxley's death was made public. They were allies though, both desiring similar objectives. At least that's what she told herself every time she came from a meeting with him.

The two top agents had grown on her though. Natasha's questionable humor and commitment to her mission earned her Rynan's respect and saving her life was also up there on reasons she liked her. When Rynan wasn't in a particular mood to talk to Fury, she'd have Natasha give him her report. The red head would roll her eyes but take it.

The Black Widow had also made it her mission to make Rynan into a top notch fighter. Her deduction, same as James' had been, was that magic could only do so much and she needed to know how to fight without it. They spent hours in the gym, Natasha pummeling Rynan into the mat, barking out corrections every time Rynan felt her back slam into the padded floor.

Clint joined from time to time to give her a different approach. Rynan wasn't as flexible as Natasha and it showed in her movements. With Clint, he was able to demonstrate a different approach because, they both silently agreed, there was no one like Natasha Romanoff.

They both demanded perfection and she saw her body begin to change to reflect her commitment and training. It was toned and she could feel the strength increasing in her muscles. Her self-confidence markedly higher than it had been in years. There was something so invigorating about seeing the results of all your hard work and she found herself with a healthy outlet for everything bottled up. It reminded her of training the new recruits for the Aurors but this time she was the student.

She would go as far to say she trusted the two which led to the current discussion.

With no leads on James, Rynan resigned herself to asking Natasha for a favor. She knew some of her history, bits and pieces that were dropped during missions, enough to tell her that Natasha had spent a significant amount of time in the Soviet Union and the KGB. She was  _the_ spider - her webs had webs.

"D'you still have contacts from the KGB?" she broached the subject to her after one of their training sessions.

Natasha lifted an eyebrow as if asking if she had really just asked that question. "I have contacts everywhere." She replied coolly, taking a sip of her water.

Once again, her webs had webs.

Rynan took a gulp of her own water, sports bra clad chest heaving as she worked to calm her breathing.

"James once let slip that he had been with the KGB for some years, enough to learn Russian. I think his training and programming took place there but I haven't found anything and I don't have any favors to call in over there."

She had used all her European favors in the beginning of her search, not having anticipated the length of her quest.

Natasha sent her a searching look. She hadn't met too many people who genuinely wanted to help someone like her. Those were characteristics she shared with Clint. She knew exactly who James was but she had known him by a different name, years ago.

"He's lucky to have you. Someone willing to sacrifice so much for them - not many people are willing to do that." Her rough voice pitched slightly, a rare show of wistfulness.

Rynan fidgeted, not used to such sincerity from the red head. Rynan didn't see it that way; she was just being selfish. All she wanted was to get her friend back. She'd do the same if it was Ron or Hermione.

"He doesn't deserve this; no one does."

Natasha raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow in silent amusement. Rynan flushed at the accusing stare.

She knew there was more to their relationship than what Rynan was willing to admit. She had been around many people, adopted many personas. She knew the look of someone in love.

She thought she had been in love once. In the Red Room, he had taught her group of Black Widow trainees in their final year. Zima became more than her teacher and she became more than his student. They had been planning to run away together before her graduation and surgery. Together, they had decided to be different, break away. Natasha truly believed that they had loved one another. But love was childish. She had been willing to do anything for him and he her. They paid the ultimate price for their 'love'. Her punishment was watching him forget her as he was put back in cryo. A few months later she graduated and was sterilized. All that had been for nothing. They gained nothing from their 'love'.

It was weeks later that she escaped and because a rogue agent. Those first few months she spent looking over her shoulder, waiting for them to send  _him_. But he never appeared and she relaxed; she could easily take the others they sent after her and she did.

The next time she saw him was his bulky form towering over her, figure blocking the sun, as she bleed out, disregarding her as he confirmed the death of the Iranian scientist. He looked right at her and there was no flicker of recognition, no evidence of the feelings they once shared.

Then, this girl appears with information on him, claiming that he had lived with her for years before he had disappeared again. She even claimed he had regained his memory. For the first time in years, she felt something claw at her heart…hope. Hope that she might still be able to reach him…that she could save him.

She wasn't naïve, she could see it in the way Potter talked about him even if the girl herself refused to acknowledge it: she was in love with the Winter Solder. It wouldn't be her Zima would come back to and she had come to accept that. Love was for children after all but it didn't make the hurt lessen.

Natasha took another sip of her water, observing the woman complete her cool down stretches.

If she was deserving of redemption than so was Zima and if there was one more person willing to look and fight for him, she would take it. So, while she had originally taken this mission to exploit Rynan for information on her former partner, she quickly abandoned it when she got to know the woman and just how extraordinary she was.

Those shots should've killed her, should've been centimeters higher. The Winter Soldier never missed a target, she knew that first hand; yet he missed a wide open shot. No, there was more to Potter than she originally thought if she was able to make the Winter Soldier break protocol when even she couldn't.

Glancing at the clock, Natasha stood, "We're done for today."

Rynan looked up and nodded.

"This is our last training session together for a while. I'm going undercover for the next few months and I need to prepare."

Fury was having her observe Banner from a distance. He had become a liability and they wanted to make sure he didn't become one that needed to be put down.

"Off to destroy more fragile male egos?" Rynan chuckled as she pulled on her shirt.

Natasha shrugged carelessly, swinging her shirt over her shoulder as she swaggered off to the exit.

Rynan ran to catch up.

"You should take your little monster around the States this summer."

Meeting Teddy had been…different. The preteen was almost exactly like his godmother with a bit more eccentricities. The blue hair for one. Another was his proclivity for rare meat. After their brief encounter in the hospital, they were able to properly meet that summer when Rynan first came to work with SHIELD. With few peculiarities and his penchant for mischievous, Natasha had dubbed Teddy Rynan's little monster and the endearment had stuck ever since.

"We already did that. There's a few things we need to do here in D.C. and then I'm taking him to New York for a fortnight."

They didn't have that long to spend in America seeing as Fleur was due mid-July with their third baby. Her and Bill had announced the news over Christmas and Teddy was excited to have another cousin. Rynan had promised she'd be there for the birth and that wasn't something she was going to back out on.

They paused at the elevator, Natasha going down to the garage and Rynan going up to the exit.

"Well, tell the kid I'm sorry I missed him." Natasha entered the elevator, pressing the garage button. "I'll look into that matter as soon as I can."

Rynan gave her a thankful smile, giving a little farewell wave. Her mind suddenly recalling another incident she had to get to the bottom of.

"Wait!" Her hand moved to stop the closing metal doors. "Tell Clint to stop sending me pregnancy tests! The delivery man is giving me looks!"

A wicked smirk broke across the spy's face and Rynan felt her mouth open in horror. The smirk telling her exactly who was behind the prank.

The doors closed before she could find her voice again.

/

A quick trip to King's Cross to pick up Teddy had them back in D.C. by the end of the day. It was a birthday gift/congratulations present since McGonagall sent her a letter stating Teddy was the top of his class this year.

Andromeda was planning a celebration for when they got back. It wasn't a competition, she knew that, but she was going to give him the best present. But first, a side trip for business.

There was a veteran's center that had opened last year with a similar style to the ones she had funded back in the UK; all her meetings and collaborations between the two governments now bearing fruit. Even if she wasn't part of the process anymore, she still wanted to make sure everything was functioning properly.

"Aunt Ry!" Teddy whined as she dragged him downtown. "Why can't we go to New York now?"

Rynan rolled her eyes but had to think it could be worse. There were many teenagers who didn't want to be seen with their parents. Teddy was the opposite.

"I told you; this will only take today and we'll be in New York tomorrow morning."

"But they're only doing a demonstration of the Firebolt Supreme tomorrow and I already missed the one back home!"

Rynan stopped and turned to look at her godson, "Edward Remus Lupin, so help me…if I hear one more compliant from you, you'll not be going."

Boom, Rynan thought, his full name always go him to listen. Granted, she knew he was just excited but he was going to flip when he realized she got him tickets to be one of the first people to ride a Firebolt Supreme. She had been planning this for months with his grandmother and they even had plans to get him one for Christmas this year.

Rynan took in the exterior of the building…it looked well maintained. The real challenge will be the inside and the counselors.

"I don't get why they don't have moving pictures? It would make this place so much better!" Teddy chattered behind her.

The place was nicely decorated but the thirteen year old had his mother's sense of style and no matter how much she tried to raise him in both worlds, he was still a wizard's child.

"A moving painting is the last thing these people need."

"Well, what about a ghost. The Fat Friar would be pretty helpful. He's a good listener."

Ah, the Hufflepuff ghost. Oddly enough, she had never talked with the kind ghost.

Rynan ruffled his now pitch black hair. He had inherited his parent's kindness and she couldn't be prouder.

"Can I help you?" A voice sounded behind them.

Turning, she saw a young man moving towards her and Teddy. Putting a smile on, she held out her hand in greeting.

"Hullo. I'm Rynan and this is Teddy. I was part of the framework to get this up and running and I just wanted to make sure everything was going okay. We were anticipating a few issues that would need worked out the first year."

The man looked at her, a familiar look Rynan was used to.

"Aren't you a little young-"

"To your first question, no. I'm 30. To the question you are undoubtedly thinking, no, Teddy is not my brother; he's my godson. And to your last question; yes, I am from England." She decided to get all the frequent questions out of the way first.

The man seemed to recover fast from his shock as he gave her a smile, "Well, you're looking good, real good."

Teddy's eyes widened at the unsubtle flirting the man was attempting with his godmother. He elbowed her side in his shock.

The flirting gave her pause before she chuckled it off, "Good genes I guess." They shared a laugh. "I'm Rynan Potter. I helped set up similar centers back home."

"So, where were you stationed?" he questioned curiously, relaxing his posture. "I did two tours and I speak with veterans all day; I know the look of one when I see 'em."

Well, this wasn't something that happened every day. Not many people could tell she'd been in a war, most just underestimated her.

"Internal terrorism a decade ago. Top secret and all."

That was the muggle version of the story.

The man did his best to hide his wince, he had clearly done the math. Thankfully, he didn't say anything. "I'm Sam by the way, Sam Wilson. And if you ever want to get dinner…"

He left the end open for her to fill in. Rynan laughed, she hadn't been hit on in years. Sam was a refreshing change to the usually low life, stuck up snobs who usually tried to win her favor.

Unfortunately, they had plans for tomorrow and she wouldn't be in D.C. for a few months.

"I really appreciate the offer but-"

"You can pick her up tonight at 7." Teddy cut off her refusal, eyeing Rynan smugly.

She shifted her weight to her other foot; oh, she was going to have a nice long talk with her godson after this.

"We're leaving in the morning so she can't be out too late."

Sam looked at the kid uncertainly. He found it great that he was trying to set his guardian up but she had been about to politely refuse his offer.

Coughing, Rynan pushed the smug little Metamorphmagus behind her.

"I'm sorry. He has this problem where he doesn't think before speaking. "

"No, it's fine. I understand…you don't have to go out with me."

"No, no. That's not fair. I was going to say I couldn't because I promised to take Teddy to New York tomorrow but since it's okay with him…"

She could tell she caught him off guard but he was quick to regain his footing, "Tonight at 6, Le Diplomate? It's pretty famous but it has a homey feeling to it."

"Great." Rynan smiled as she looked for something to say.

"Great." Sam mimicked, both caught in the awkward moment of having nothing to say now that plans had been made.

Great, Teddy thought, rolling his eyes.

"So, I should probably give you a tour of the place?" Sam suggested,

"Uh, yeah…yeah, that would be great!" Rynan couldn't keep the smile from taking over her face.

Urgh…the things he did for his godmother.

/

Making it back to her place Rynan called the only person she could trust to watch Teddy: Natasha Romanoff.

"Natasha! I need a huge favor." She started off the call. "I know you're getting ready for a mission but I really need your help."

"Potter, this better be important. I leave tomorrow."

Switching her phone to speaker, Rynan raided her closet, looking for something nice she could wear tonight, half her mind convinced to get transfigure a set of clothes.

"I know and I wouldn't ask if there was another option but I can't leave Teddy by himself - Please Teddy, you almost caught the house on fire last time I left you home alone - and this is my first date in almost a decade." Rynan pleaded to her partner, taking a moment to come up from her closet, multiple articles of clothing finding a temporary home on her bed.

At the word date, she could tell she had caught the spy's interest.

"You actually have a date, Miss I-Will-Never-Date, Waiting-for-You-Know-Who?"

Rynan cringed at the last title, throwing another shirt on her bed. "Please, never use that name again. Besides, I can have a little fun. It's nothing serious, just a dinner but he was really nice and I thought…why not?"

"Well, who is he?"

"His name is Sam. He works down at the VA Center." Another shirt was thrown in the growing pile. "And please don't run a background check on him."

Teddy held up a dress Ginny had gotten her last Christmas. Rynan shook her head negatively. It was too fancy.

Teddy collapsed to the bed, face down, in exasperation. They had gone through half her closet!

Natasha hummed on the other end of the line, unnaturally quiet. Rynan would bet her fortune that she was already pulling up every file there was on Sam.

"Romanoff." She warned as she pulled out another shirt, matching it with a sweater she had pulled out five minutes ago.

Nudging the bed, Teddy gave her a thumbs up without moving his face from the bed sheets, his body too exhausted to move.

"Hmm. He's cute. Air Force. Amazing mission completion rate. Only returned eight months ago. Now that is interesting…"

And this was exactly why she didn't want her going into his background. Everyone had a past they were entitled to and she didn't want to invade his privacy.

"No, no. I don't want to know."

Waving her hand, her clothes began to arrange themselves back into her closet, neatly and unlike they were before.

"That is one fascinating fella you met."

No, stop, she's doing this on purpose. Rynan never could control her curiosity. Biting her lip, she felt her restraint slipping. Even Teddy's head had popped up in curiosity.

They both heard a sigh through the speaker, Natasha was clearly disappointed Rynan wasn't playing along. But she dropped the subject, Rynan's self-restraint relaxing.

"What time do I need to pick the little monster up?"

An indignant shout from Teddy followed, causing Rynan to shush him.

"Around 5:30?"

Rynan heard a hum she took as a confirmation for the time and thanked her before hanging up.

Rynan flicked her hand, enchanting the two pillows on her bed to start hitting Teddy. He grunted at the first hit, lifting his face to glare when another pillow smacked him square in the face.

Rynan could barely hold back her laughter as she canceled the spell and the pillows dropped to the bed.

"I know you know this, but no magic tonight. Natasha knows about your magic but she's the only one."

Teddy sat up, turning his hair to her black color but keeping the chocolate brown eyes. He had amazing control over his abilities, more so than his mother at that age. Rynan and Andromeda were proud of his progress.

Merlin, how was he thirteen already? It seems like only yesterday she was picking him up from Andy's to come live with her. His face was losing his baby fat, becoming more angled not to mention his cracking voice.

"I'm feeling like bubblegum pink for tomorrow? It'd go great with this beanie Alex got me for my birthday."

Her eye did not twitch.

/

There was a knock and the door opened before either of the two could get to it. Natasha strode in, unconcerned about not being invited in.

Rynan stood in the main room, having been making her way to the door. She looked at her in disbelief.

"Did you make a copy of my key?"

Natasha ignored the silly question, of course she did, it wasn't that surprising.

"Really," her eyes swept over Rynan's figure, "You're wearing that?"

Rynan felt herself flush.

"Are you looking for a second date?" Natasha circled her, scrutinizing her head to toe. "Do you have an elastic band?"

Knowing how she was, Rynan let Natasha go about her mission; she trusted the woman and it wasn't like this was her specialty.

"If you're going for a casual look, a nice double braided up-do will give you some wow factor." Rynan felt her small, skillful hands that had killed countless people, weave effortlessly through her messy hair, pulling the braids tight before tying it off.

Natasha came around to face Rynan, smirk plastered on her face.

Suddenly self-conscious, Rynan tugged at her skirt, "What?"

"He's gonna be speechless when he sees you."

"Really? Is it too much?" The last thing she wanted was to look like she was trying too hard. She didn't want to give the impression that it was a serious, romantic date.

Standing from his seat, Teddy moved forward, pushing her towards the door. "You look great Aunt Ry. Now go an' have fun."

It was a nice night out. The warm summer sun still in the sky, the sound of passing bird chirping filling the otherwise noiseless street.

Natasha silhouette leaned against the doorway, her now turquoise haired godson visible just behind her.

"And you're sure this is okay? I can call Barton, see if he can..."

Her purse was thrown at her, her Seeker reflexes plucking it out of the air effortlessly.

"Barton is still trying to wrap his head around the existence of God's. He won't be of any use." Right the whole New Mexico fiasco. Even she was still wrapping her head around that one. Interdimensional beings having a showdown on Earth was not something she needed to concern herself with. She was staying far away from anything concerning that matter.

"Fine, fine. I'll see you tonight."

She could do this, it was one date. Sam seemed like a nice guy and she deserved to have a little fun. Merlin's beard…she was 30 years old, not some teenager going on their first date!

Was she or was she not, the defeater of Dark Lords; the savior of the Wizarding World?

She could handle a little date...maybe? Hopefully.

Teddy and Natasha watched her from the doorway as she apparated, both shaking their heads.

"Come, little monster. I have plans," she drawled, running a passing hand threw his hair as she unlocked her car. Teddy only let out a sigh before following her.

The things he did for his godmother.

/

The date went really well. Sam was funny and she could tell he wasn't pushing for anything else; his only motive was to take her out for dinner and get to know her.

She could barely remember the last time she had laughed so much; it had to be years. They traded war stories; he told her about Riley and she told her about Fred. She found it easier, talking to someone about it, someone she didn't feel guilty bringing his death up to.

"You should come to one of my meeting when you're back in D.C.."

"Yeah?" Rynan always thought she had been managing her problems from the war but talking with Sam made her realize that maybe she had just been shoving a lot of things to the back of her mind. "Maybe we can have lunch or something before that?"

Sam laughed, taking a sip of his wine.

"Will Teddy be with you?" He found the kid hilarious, the way he tried to set up Rynan.

Rynan answered with her own laugh, "No, he'll be at school in Scotland."

They both deposited their napkins on the table, standing to leave.

"Is there anywhere I can drop you off?" Sam offered her as they walked to the exit, bidding the hostess goodnight. He hadn't seen any car keys on her and it didn't feel right letting her walk home alone.

"My friend is babysitting Teddy. I have to stop by her place to pick him up."

"It's he like fourteen?" Usually kids didn't need a babysitter at his age and he seemed like a good enough kid.

The wind had picked up and the sun was set, the red and purple fading in the sky as it neared 9 o'clock.

"Yes, and the last time he was home alone with his cousin, the house almost burned down." That was not a memory Rynan wanted to relive. The sheer terror her, Hermione and Ron felt when they came home to the kitchen on fire and Rose tugging Hugo to the door as Teddy tried to remember the water spell, had been enough for Teddy to never be left home alone or with the kids ever again.

Sam whistled, that was pretty serious.

"Let me get you a cab then," he insisted.

"You don't have to do that, you paid for dinner." Rynan tried to argue, having planned to just apparate. And he had been persisted in the fact he would pay for dinner no matter how much Rynan argued.

"My momma would smack me if she ever found out I let a lady walk home alone." That ended the discussion as he hailed a cab and said goodnight.

"I'll stop by when I'm back in D.C. around September." She left him a parting peck on the cheek as she entered the cab.

"I'll hold you to that!" Sam promised as the cab took off.

/

Rynan made it to SHIELD lodging which was connected to the Triskelion and was left speechless with the state of the facility.

"What the bloody hell happened?!" It looked like a battle had taken place with furniture destroyed and holes in the walls. Rushing to Natasha's room, she found an even more unlikely sight: Teddy passed out on the bed with Natasha flipping through TV channels causally.

"Sooo, how'd the date go?" Natasha threw Rynan a disarming smile which fell when she saw Rynan looking exactly how she left, not a hair out of place. "Wow, you really only had dinner."

"Romanoff, why does SHIELD look like it was involved in a battle and why is my godson passed out on your bed when it's only," Rynan looked at her watch, "9:30?"

Natasha shrugged, turning back to channel surfing, "We decided to play ultimate hide and seek. Clint had to get involved of course. Surprisingly, a few Academy students joined in. Your godson is a slippery little monster," she raised her eyebrow, almost approvingly at the boy, "It didn't take him long to start using his shape shifting ability to hide. That's when Clint really got into it; mumbling about snot-nosed brats not getting the best of him."

Rynan finally noticed Barton perched on the other side of the room. It looked like he was sleeping but she couldn't be sure.

Teddy could be a handful, she'd admit that, but there was no way all of that was because of a game of hide and seek. That's not even getting into the fact he used his abilities around others! It was all she could do not to have a freak out right this second.

"So all that…it was from a game of hide and seek?" she spoke slowly, making her disbelief plain.

Natasha hummed, eyes still glued on the TV.

"There were holes in the walls!" she shouted, resisting the urge to run her hand through her braided hair.

"I said ultimate and Teddy was an unnaturally good. He'd make a good agent."

"No no no, no! He is not going to be an agent, he is not joining SHIELD! I have enough trouble dealing with his magic, I don't need him learning out to be a spy."

She drew a line. She allowed Teddy many freedoms, but this would not be one of them.

"Relax Lucky. Everyone should know a little self-defense. You never know when you'll need it." Barton spoke from his perch, indicating he had been listening the entire time. "He's old enough to be on HYDRA's radar so he should have a few tricks up his sleeves."

So that was part of the game, teaching Teddy to blend in.

It was eerie how Barton's eyes seemed to glint in the darkness of the room, the only light emitting from the TV. She counted him as one of the few people she could trust at SHIELD but there were instances where she wasn't sure what he was thinking. He had a bit of dry, sarcastic humor about him. She had been just one of many to confuse him and Natasha for a couple.

Rynan moved her gaze across the three people in the room, the cogs in her head turning.

"Did he at least win?"

"Nope." Natasha popped the p. "I found him. He has a distinct gait and when he changes, it doesn't change."

"And Barton?"

Barton turned his head, not answering. His partner did the honor for him.

"The holes are from him."

They shared a laugh at the man's expense. But it was getting late and they did have to leave tomorrow morning.

"Wanna help me with him?" Rynan asked Barton, once they calmed down, motioning to the passed out preteen. He had had a growth spurt since the winter holidays. She only had about 8 cm on him now so there was no way she could carry him outside and she couldn't use her magic.

Barton scooped him up, following Rynan and Natasha outside, the former calling a cab.

Rynan carded her hand through Teddy's sweat dried hair, remembering similar times years ago.

Shaking him awake gently, thankful he was compliant when tired, she thanked the cabbie and got the boy to bed no problem. Moving to her bedroom, she changed clothes and picked up the letter from McGonagall again. For some reason, it was just hitting her that her Teddy wasn't a little kid anymore. He was growing up.

**///**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rynan and Sam have a little heart to heart and Sam just proves what an amazing person he is

Fury sat behind his desk, his eye studying his guest intently. She'd been gone a few months and only just returned. He was starting to get the feeling they were fighting two different battles. Was she only in this to save Barnes? Would she continue the fight once he was rescued or killed? If he only knew one thing about Rynan Potter, it was that she held more cards then she had shared.

“Why are you putting so much effort into finding him?”

“No one deserves what has been done to him. His body, his mind, his action, his life…it’s all been taken from him.” Rynan stared at the director, daring him to contradict her.

“While that’s true, he has a lot of important people’s blood on his hands. More than most people I know. And if you haven’t noticed, I employ assassins and spies," he raised his one eyebrow, daring her to object.

She searched his face, looking for any indication that they could compromise.

“You really won’t give him a chance; you’ll kill him on sight?”

Fury sighed as he turned from his mostly empty desk. It was never easy to make these decisions but you just couldn’t save everyone. He knew this and he was damn sure Potter knew this as well, she was just too stubborn to admit it!

“He is a liability that SHIELD cannot afford. He has a specific skill set designed for one purpose. He can’t be trusted with anyone.”

“And those two years he spent with me mean nothing!? He was fine, healing even!” Her hand itched to jinx the infuriating director. “We just need…our current technology can’t help him. If we could find how HYDRA programmed him, we could –.”

“And let that ability fall into someone else’s hands? You may be willing to take that risk Potter but I’m not. My duty is to protect the people of Earth. Letting technology like that surface will do nothing but incite others to follow in HYDRA’s path.”

“He sacrificed everything for this country!! And it’s just going to turn its’ back on him?! ‘No man left behind’ what a load of crock shit.” Her anger got the best of her as the mug on his desk exploded.

She moved away from the desk in shock. She hadn’t lost control like that in a long time. Getting this emotional wasn’t going to help anyone, especially James. Weary eyes darted to observe the director’s reaction. To his credit, he barely reacted to the display of magic.

“Look, I know you care for Barnes. The most I can give you is that we’ll do everything we can to bring him in alive but I will not risk my men’s lives to do so.” Fury’s hand withdrew from his concealed pistol when Rynan backed away. He was still adjusting to the fact that wizards and witches existed and the display of power did nothing to reassure him of their promised threat level. “The world thinks he died a hero, don’t take that from him.”

Rynan couldn’t believe what she had just heard, he did not just say that. Her heart beating erratically in her chest and her body shaking in rage, Rynan knew it was time to leave. “It’s clear to me this is going nowhere. Director.” With the stiff dismissal, Rynan stormed out of his office, trying not to display just how angry she truly was.

She made it to the elevator when she had to let it out. That man was just so infuriating! Her fist stung but it was a good distraction, the physical pain verse the mental pain she was feeling.

A ding surprised her. Of course, it was the elevator. The door opened slowly, did they always move that slow?

A surprised Clint stepped out of the elevator. “Potter? Finally back from the motherland and already meeting Director Fury?”

She pushed past him, jamming her left pointer finger onto the lobby button, glaring at Clint.

The doors shut before Clint could even ask what was wrong. Honestly, this was why he needed Natasha. She would know exactly what was going on. Fortunately, he was one of the best SHIELD agents for a reason. Fury and Potter must've discussed Barnes and she didn’t like the answer Fury provided; boom, question answered!

“’Thanks for the talk Clint, you’ve been so helpful!’ ‘Oh, no problem. Always here to help.’”

No one said you had to be sane to be an agent, just efficient.

//

"Hello?" Rynan answered her phone, pausing her conversation with Sam.

Sam narrowed his eyes as he watched her face change and knew whatever was being said on the other end, wasn't making his friend happy.

"I'll be there…Well, you tell him I don't give a flying fuck what he thinks right now." Rynan angrily stated to the person on the other end of her phone call, causing Sam's eyebrows to rise and his mouth to open in shock. Rynan rarely cussed and he could practically see the steam rising off her.

Rynan was one of his tougher veterans. He had been able to pull her to his weekly meetings but she rarely opened up, preferring to sit back and listen to struggles and successes of others. He tried to get her to open up one-on-one but there was a fine line between counselor and friend and he couldn't continue being her friend if he took on that role. Because of this, he had rarely seen her angry. Pissed off and annoyed, yes, but downright angry, he'd never seen that.

Gripping her phone tightly, Rynan took a deep breath before gathering her bag. "Sorry, Sam. I've gotta run.”

"No, no,” he stood from his chair, moving to intercept her, “Not till you tell me what's got you so worked up. I've never seen you like this."

She hadn't been right the last few weeks. She had gone home to England and she seemed fine, if not a little melancholy when she came back. But she had been unhinged, stressed out, the past couple weeks. He could tell that something was bothering her.

Rynan paused, turning her tired green eyes into his concerned brown ones. She hesitated. Sam was her friend and he didn't deserve the crap that came with knowing her. She wouldn't bring anyone else into her mess.

"I-I can't Sam. There's just things you can't know, things you don't want to know."

"Are you in danger?"

"No," she lied right through her teeth.

"Are you part of something dangerous?"

"No," she was a horrible friend she thought as she lied to him again.

She moved to walk away but was stopped by a tight grip on her wrist.

"You'd tell me if you were in trouble, wouldn't you?"

And here came the guilt. She didn't deserve Sam as a friend. He was too kind. He was better than she could ever be and here he was worrying about a train wreck like her. So she did what she had to do, put on her most believable smile and lied.

"Of course I would." He didn't look convinced but he dropped it, for which she was grateful. "I'll see you next week?"

She left him with a wave and her stomach rolling with what had happened in the last few minutes.

/

Walking into the interrogation building, she passed Natasha who appeared to be waiting for her.

"Telling him would put him in more danger."

Like always, she inevitably knew what was going on.

"I know that but it's not fair to him. He thinks I'm lying and blowing him off." Rynan huffed as she strode down the hall, Natasha motioning what door to go through.

"And that's the truth. You came into this ready to do anything. You can't make these kind of attachments, Potter."

She paused with her hand on the knob, turning to open the door. "How do you do it? How do you stay detached?"

Natasha didn't take long to answer. It was a rather easy question for her to answer.

"It's easy not to form attachments when the other person doesn't know the real you." She smirked, raising an eyebrow almost challengingly.

Rynan looked away, pushing the door open and coming face to face with the reason for her visit and previous anger.

"Director," she nodded curtly before focusing on the sole prisoner behind the glass window.

"Potter," Fury responded, coming to stand next to her as they both examined their prisoner.

He had clearly gotten her message. His shoulders were tense and he looked ready for an argument but that could also be due to his recent failure. They had three prisoners but two were able to kill themselves before they could be interrogated. Natasha had managed to knock out the third one before he could follow his comrades.

The man in front of them had gone through a thorough check and they had found three different capsules in his body filled with poison. That just showed the lengths these HYDRA agents are willing to go to keep their secret.

"How long has he been in there?" she asked without looking away from the HYDRA agent.

"He came out of observation less than five hours ago. The other two died around 08:00 this morning."

Rynan leaned forward to grip the underside of the window frame, trying to will away her frustration.

"Do you know the difficulty - how hard it was - getting those three here? Alive?!"

Natasha came up from behind the two, always playing the mediator between them, "We searched them in all the obvious spots and found nothing. This guy," she nodded to the HYDRA agent, "he spent two hours in surgery for us to remove the capsules."

Rynan listened, knowing everyone had done everything they could to keep these men alive. But it was difficult to achieve when they were so adamant to give up their lives. They should commend them on their dedication if it wasn’t so bloody irritating.

After a long pause, she came to a conclusion, "I want to talk to him."

Natasha raised an eyebrow with her smug, I-told-you-so, smile crossing her face as she stared at Fury whose face, instead, went blank in what Rynan could only describe as aggravation at her very existence.

"I told you she'd want a go."

The small observation room narrowed down to just the three of them as Fury sized up Rynan, debating if she could really do what she thought she could. They may not see eye to eye but he'd seen her pull off feats only some of his best could. She exposed HYDRA just like she said she could and survived an attack by the Winter Soldier.

"You have 15 minutes." That was all he would give her. His interrogators hadn't had any luck so far so she was the agent’s last chance at leniency before he sent in the big guns.

Rynan stepped closer to him, looking straight into his one eye, not feeling intimidated at all despite the almost foot difference between them.

"15 minutes and I need all cameras and recording devices turned off. I don't want what I'm about to do to go on record."

Fury looked to Natasha who only shrugged, smirk still present. "Play nice."

It was one fight he would have to lose but it wasn't a total loss. He would finally get to see her abilities firsthand. He only knew what she had parted with and what Natasha had parted with in her analysis of the woman. She was a fighter, had been since before she popped up in the political system more than a decade ago. She was a powerful ally, that he was willing to admit, but just how powerful was she?

Fury moved to the controls and turned them off under Rynan's careful observation. Once she saw everything was the way she wanted it, she exited the room and the two members of SHIELD watched her enter the interrogation room.

Rynan walked the short distance to the other room, taking a deep breath to calm her mind before she entered. Her skin was itching with anticipation and her heart was about ready to beat out of her chest. Arguing with Fury was easiest for her, she had been doing it since she met the man. It was easy to act like she knew what she was doing but in truth, she hadn't used Mind Magic in years. She'd had no need.

But now? Merlin, what if she messed up? What if she broke his mind before she could get the needed information?

Steeling herself and straightening her back, Rynan threw open the door and strode in, eyes never leaving her victim even when the pungent odor of blood and sweat assaulted her senses.

The man's eyes shot up, startled at the sudden interruption before a maniacal smile stretched across his face and he began to laugh and laugh and laugh. The sound echoing against the stone walls.

"This is who they send? A _little_ girl," the man managed to spit out through his swollen mouth. It seemed SHIELD had had to pull more than one molar. Interesting. Rynan didn't much care at the moment.

She kept moving forward, ignoring the laughter, until she was standing across from him at the table.

"Do your worst." His eyes lit up as he took in Rynan, challenging her, believing he had nothing to fear. His bloody smile doing nothing to Rynan but make him appear deranged. She had faced scarier people than him. Having Bellatrix Lestrange after you for a few years really numbed one to psychos.

She blocked out the dimly lit room. Ignored the window behind her. Didn't feel the table under her palms.

The only thing she focused on was the man in front of her, not his body, not his injuries, but his eyes. The eyes that would lead her into his mind and reveal his secrets to her.

The man met her gaze, eyes alit almost daring her to look away first. She pulled at her magic, dredging up her anger and fear and helplessness to fuel the spell forward. She felt the magic pull forth and began to shape it, control it. She needed to do this right. Barging into his mind runs the risk of him losing his sanity before she could get the information she needed.

The man in front of her began to fidget, shifting his eyes away and back before focusing on her face as she continued to say and do nothing. This wasn't what he had been expecting. Violence and pain and threats…those he was used to but this? He had no idea what she was playing at. It made him weary, it made him sweat.

Feeling as good as she ever would considering the situation, Rynan struck her hand forward, gripping the back of the man's head by his hair and whispered, " _Legilimens_."

_Focus on what you want. Clear your mind._

Rynan chanted as she was thrust into his mind and memories came flying at her from all directions.

_Focus on HYDRA._

The flashes began to slow and Rynan took a deep breath as she manipulated her magic to pull the memories she wanted. Unlike the last time she did this wandlessly, she didn't have the wild emotion coursing through her, fueling her magic. It was working though. Voices, missions, people…the memories were coming forward.

She started to get pushback, like the man - Biggs - was trying to fight her off. He had a strong mind for a muggle. HYDRA put all their members through some kind of mental training to resist torture. This must be a result of that.

It didn't matter to her. Her magic pushed back against his attempts to stop her. Was this what Snape felt like when he was teaching her Occlumency? The feeble attempts at fighting him off?

Biggs didn't spend much time in America, his missions taking him mainly to South America but he had received orders and on an occasion or two worked with agents based in DC, confirming her suspicions that HYDRA was operating a base in the capital. She dug at those memories, pulling them from the recesses of his mind, pushing past the death and torture and how he reveled in all his kills. She felt nauseous and wanted to withdrawal from his twisted mind but she was here for reason and she would suffer this brief torture to get this information.

Conversations…whispers…rumors…Biggs heard all of them about the Winter Soldier. They had been circulating for years and the last rumor he had heard was that the Winter Soldier had been put on ice indefinitely because the handlers were worried that he would defect because he had failed to kill his target and had gone rogue. There were even whispers that he had killed five agents when they tried to contain him.

Rynan fought off a grin when she came across that particular memory. The fear HYDRA had at losing control of James was well founded and once he regained his memory, every last one of these waste of space was going to wish they had never heard the name HYDRA.

The spell was losing power, her magic slipping from the strain of concentrating it for so long. She just needed to find one more memory and she would be done with him. She needed to see who was stationed in the US.

_Come on._

She wanted it to be easy. To see a person and recognize them. To end this now.

…She didn't get her wish. She didn't recognize any of the men and they only used codenames. The best she could do was give the description to Fury and have him run them through their database.

Pulling out was rough. The strain on her mind and magic was great. There was a reason only the strongest witches and wizards could be legilimens. It required great skill and control. Through her panting, Rynan was happy to see that the man wasn't a complete vegetable. Fury would find it much easier to get information out of him now.

She picked herself up, shot the man struggling to get up from the floor a glare and turned her attention to the window behind her.

"He's all yours," she drawled out, wondering what the two thought she had done to the man. She had only ever been subjected to legilimency, so she never saw what it looked like to an outsider.

Natasha was there in a second, pulling Biggs back into the chair roughly and speaking harshly when the door shut behind Rynan. The last thing Rynan heard was screaming.

Fury was waiting for her in the hallway, his black trench coat pushed back as he slid his hands into his pants pockets. Even with his one eye, Rynan could tell the man was riveted by what she had done.

"Well color me impressed. I assume you got the information you were looking for?" Fury waited for her to meet him before making their way to his office to speak privately.

"Not as specific as I had hoped but we can work with it."

/

"Rynan!"

She paused on her way out of the Triskelion, turning to the voice calling out to her. Not many people here knew her or her name and she didn't recognize the voice immediately.

A kind face greeted her and she finally put a name to the voice, feeling sheepish that she had forgotten.

"Alexander," she greeted with a smile. They hadn't had many interactions since their shaky introduction but she had spoken to him on a few occasions. She liked the man.

He was quick and he reminded her of Remus as he had that fierceness about him but in a protecting sort of way. He seemed like a less violent, more approachable, version of Fury.

"What brings you to the Triskelion?" Alexander inquired as he fell into step with Rynan.

She shared a smile with him, "I was in a meeting with Fury. We acquired new information about the HYDRA base here in DC."

Alexander nodded in understanding. "Ah yes, I heard that your team had captured three suspected HYDRA agents alive. That was pretty impressive considering the capture rate is close to 13%."

Rynan grimaced at the reminder. "We didn't get off that easy." She rubbed her shoulder which had been dislocated in the struggle. A few numbing potions and popping it back in and she was good but it was a reminder that the mission could've gone way worse.

"How's your godson? He made quite a mess last time he was here, I hear."

They shared a laugh, Rynan's more forced as she remembered the bill Fury had hit her with. It wasn't as bad as it could've been, Natasha and Clint taking the brunt of the blame for instigating the game in the first place.

"Teddy's back in school giving me a few months of peace and quiet." Rynan waved for a taxi, hiking up the collar of her jacket as a particularly cold burst of air swept by them. "Nat has officially been banned from babysitting duty."

A taxi pulled up and Rynan bid the Undersecretary goodbye as she opened the car door.

"Swing by my office tomorrow. I'd love to catch up with you." Alexander invited, wind blowing his hair to the side.

Thinking about it for a moment, Rynan agreed.

Pierce watched the taxi drive away, eyes narrowed as he wondered what the agent had given away. He would have to pay the man a visit to remind him who he swore his allegiance to.

Letting the smile slide off his face, the blonde turned and walked with purpose back inside the Triskelion. He had work to do.

/

"I'm sorry Rynan, I've tried to give you your space but I can't hold my tongue anymore." Sam cornered her after their next VA meeting. "You're half here like your mind is a thousand miles away. You’re exhausted. And the only people I see as jumpy as you, they’ve just returned from war.”

Sam took a step back to appear less threatening. His softened his voice, worry tinging every word.

"You told me you'd tell me if you were in trouble."

Rynan ran a hand through her hair, darting her eyes from Sam to the exit, debating on the merit of making a run for it. Deciding against it, Rynan turned her full attention to her friend. He deserved to know how dangerous her life was so he could decide if he wanted to make a run for it.

The room was empty, everyone having left after mingling for a bit. Sam had clearly been planning this for a while, Rynan thought with a mental smile.

She pulled a chair up, motioning for her friend to sit while she grabbed another. This was a discussion both of them needed to be seated for.

She pushed her glasses up from where they had slipped, resisting the urge to rub her faded scar. A brief glimpse of another scar had her taking a deep breath. No lies between friends.

"When I first met you, you knew I’d seen war and while it’s true, s'not the reason I'm in the states. A few years ago, I ran into trouble and someone – I can't tell you who – put a hit on me. I barely escaped." It was a condensed version but he didn’t need the full story there.

Sam's eyes widened fractionally, either in response to her opening up or at the revelation that someone had tried to kill her. He crossed his muscular arms and Rynan observed his bicep and forearm muscles flexing and relaxing as he struggled to remain silent.

"This next part you have to understand, I didn't make it on a whim." It didn't feel right discussing James to a stranger, someone who had no idea who he was, what he was like. But at the same time, didn't hold the bias of knowing the actions of the Winter Soldier. "There was this man, James, who was in a bad place and I took him in. I was helping him like you help all these people. We were fine for years and he was making such good progress."

Sam felt a smile creep across his face as her face began to light up, tired lines disappearing and light creeping back into her eyes.

"He was integrated back into the public, we had control of his nightmares, and he was…he was thriving! James was brilliant and Teddy loved him –."

She cut herself off as if realizing she might’ve said too much. The clock in the room tick-tick-ticking as Sam waited for her to continue. She needed to move in her own time and he’d be patient and let her.

"…but that was ripped away from him. The people who tried to kill me took him and brainwashed him into becoming their weapon. They make him do things, terrible things and he doesn't even know it!" The spark that had lit up her eyes morphed into a fire as rage took over, hatred seeping into her voice as she spilled her secrets.

"The last few months I've been following new leads but I feel like I'm in an endless cycle. That every time I get closer, he just gets further and further away! I know I'll find him but I'm scared that I'll be too late; that he'll be too far gone."

There, her darkest secret. She had no doubt that she would find and rescue James but there was no telling what sick experiments HYDRA had done and would do until then. There was a chance that that little piece of James that had survived, the piece that saved her life, had been removed by any means necessary. She was afraid that when she found him again, the best thing she could do for him would be to put him down.

Rynan was broken out of her dark thoughts when a soft, callused hand rubbed against her closed ones, coaxing them apart as the thumb brushed against the outside of her right hand. She stared at the appendage in amazement, all previous thoughts forgotten. When was the last time she had allowed someone to touch her so gently? The last time she opened herself up to someone, not Ron or Hermione?

His voice broke her from her trace, drawing her eyes back to his. His first words not prying into the trouble she was in but seeing the truth in what was haunting her, "If you’ve spent so much time looking for this guy, you must care for him a lot.”

And she did. She wouldn't deny that. She had cared for James like she cares for Weasley's. The three of them had become a family. It was hard to explain when even she didn't understand her feelings all that much.

Have you ever felt that way about someone?” She wasn’t sure why she was asking other than to not feel so alone.

Sam leaned back as he took his time to answer her question.

“My wingman, Riley. I told ya a few stories about him; we were close. After he died, I didn’t really see a point in fighting anymore.”

And she did remember Riley. The first day they met, Sam had talked about Riley and she Fred. The two of them had been closer than brothers, a bond that went beyond simple duty and friendship.

But there was a difference between them and she wasn’t sure who had it worse: her, who was plagued with all these possibilities and uncertainty or Sam, who knew he would never see Riley ever again.

“I know the pain of loss, that’s nothing new. But this isn’t something I’ve felt before. It’s been months since our last lead.” She steadied her hand by pushing it through her hair.

She missed Sam’s gaze as she dropped her head, hands locking behind her neck. He was pulling at what he had learned tonight and what he knew of Rynan. The information she had parted with wasn’t much but he gathered that it was dangerous. Pulling at his years in the Air Force as a pararescue, he knew sometimes the best and safest solution was always the most direct one.

“You said it yourself, you don’t know what this James is like now. Worrying about it won’t accomplish anything as all you’re doing is making these people cautious. You need to give ‘em space, make ‘em think they’re on the offensive now.”

“Lure them out with false security?” Was that something they could afford? HYDRA had already proved they were multiple steps ahead of them. Could they let off the pressure and risk another Oxley?

Sam shrugged, mentally debating if he was ready to get back in the game. There was no way he was going to let Rynan continue this alone. “Something like that.”

A light bulb went off in Rynan’s mind for a different reason. She had a new plan, something she would need to convey to Fury, that would limit the casualties down to one: herself.

Pushing up from her chair, she moved excitedly to her friend, “Do I pay you, Sam? You should be getting a raise.”

“A pretty lady accompanying me for a meal is payment enough,” he flirted but blushed when she bent to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“See you Friday?”

“Same time and place,” he called from his seated position, watching her dash out of the building.

**/**


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HYDRA finally makes their move!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am exhausted but here is the chapter I promised last week. It might be awhile until the next update as I have about four projects due this coming month. There are probably plenty of mistakes here which I will try to come back to when I have some time. But if you see anything, let me know and I'll get to it!

"Director Fury! We lost Biggs!"

Fury jerked upwards, chair flying back, "What do you mean, we lost him!?" Fury walked threateningly towards the agent in question. "That man was under 24-hour surveillance and you're telling me he's dead."

Rynan was half from her seat as well, eyes wide as the information sunk in. While she had gotten the information she needed from him, he was still useful to SHIELD.

The agent shifted, fully realizing who was in the room. Gulping, he struggled to continue, "Sir, he was. But someone hacked into our system and put it on a loop."

Rynan moved to stand completely, taking in the information. Since she had announced her hacking of SHIELD, they had worked overtime to fix all the holes and now had one of the best firewalls. Even Hermione couldn't hack into it anymore.

"And no one noticed this because…? I have the best people working here and no one noticed a simple feedback loop?"

"To be fair, sir, he was sleeping at the time. For anything to happen, only an estimated 15 minutes would be needed. During that time, your sleeping position does not change or fluctuate. Unless someone was with him 24/7…our analysts noticed it about an hour after the infiltration. By the time we got to him in his cell, he was already gone."

Rynan stood equal with Fury now, both staring down the agent baring the bad news, her forehead furrowing in concentration. While Fury was fuming on the loss of his prisoner, Rynan realized the opportunity this presented them.

Quieting his rage, something Rynan admired about the man, he never took his anger out on his people, Fury dismissed the agent, making his way to his window overlooking the capital. She watched his clenched hand beat into the hurricane thick window before resting his head on it.

He was beyond frustrated. In all his years, he had never come up against an enemy he couldn't defeat. These last few years had pulled his brain for every strategy, every contact…he was beginning to question everything, everyone. He needed to trust his agents but there was a traitor amongst them and he wasn't sure if it was 1 or 100. What has he been reduced to that his confidant was a young twenty-something witch from England? Who, he might add, had a certain proclivity for defying authority.

But he never questioned her conviction or her loyalty, not once. She was dangerous, but she was on his side, no matter their disagreements.

"We can't keep going at this blind," he punctured each word with a fist to the window.

Rynan's eye's lost focus as her thoughts drifted to what she needed to do. Letting out a large sigh, she placed her hands on the back of her chair.

"I want you to suspend all operations associated with HYDRA. This confirms that they have infiltrated SHIELD and anything we do, they'll be three steps ahead. All we can hope for now is that Biggs died before he disclosed his betrayal."

They were here, planning, alone, in an impersonal office. She had never been good at waiting but she should've known this would be her life. She had been preparing for this since she was fifteen: taking on authority covertly.

"Give me time. HYDRA won't stay quiet for long once they realize SHIELD isn't tracking them anymore. It'll give you time to search the city for anything suspicious." Rynan finished before Fury could interrupt her.

"We don't know what they'll do."

"We don't know what they're doing now! We lost our only lead and we lost him in the heart of SHIELD." Rynan ran her hand through her messy braid, "Alert the Security Council of the plan."

"And what will you be doing?" he inquired, lips pulling tight at being ordered around.

Rynan gave him a weak smile, "Nothing."

Hands slammed onto the desk, the sound echoing in the office.

"You better give me a lot more than 'Nothing'!"

Was that concern she saw? Funny, who'd have ever thought the two of them would be in this situation. If the situation wasn't so severe, she would've let out a laugh but as it stands, that wouldn't be appropriate, all things considered.

"I've been asked to take a permanent place in the cooperation between the US and UK in the implementation of both training and programming of standard care in both the VA hospitals and centers along the East Coast."

In reality, these plans had already been scheduled ages ago but it was a good cover to give Fury. She didn't need him poking around in her personal business as she was being commissioned to give weekly lectures at Ilvermony for the next seven weeks. While their relationship had greatly improved since their first meeting, Rynan didn't care for the Director of SHIELD and she had an inkling the feeling was mutual. For the ruse to work, she had to do something. She knew she couldn't do nothing indefinitely, waiting for HYDRA to make a move. So this was her also moving on with a chapter of her life. She had given lectures to the Auror trainees and Kingsley had been hounding her to be a guest speaker for the NEWT and OWL DADA students. She had finally caved, just not at Hogwarts.

"I'll inform Pierce of our findings so he can communicate them with the World Security Council."

"Understood, Director," she mock saluted, drawing his ire at her disregard for his position and the apparent danger she was putting herself into.

Fury groaned, praying to anyone listening to never put her and Stark together in a room with him. One of them would not be making it out alive.

/

Rynan really felt like they were getting somewhere now. They just had to let HYDRA crawl out of their dark hole. And while they waited for that, she would carry on with her life which meant going over her notes and lectures for each year. Since it was Hermione's idea (she thought it would be good for her), Rynan accepted on the condition she help her prepare. She was nervous as hell and didn't want to make a fool of herself. Teaching your peers was a lot different than teaching children.

Her entire living area was covered in scattered notes and books as she drew up lectures appropriate for each year group. First years did not need to know spell combinations and seventh years should already know the basics of dueling.

It was a few days later when Fury informed her the meeting had concluded and they were a go. He had informed the delegates that SHIELD had suspended the inquiry into HYDRA as they had come to a standstill. Instead, they were shifting their focus to the Middle East and the unrest forming, having a suspicion that someone was supplying the terrorist organization, the Ten Rings, with advanced weaponry. They needed to maintain what little peace they had managed to scrape up these last few months since the end of the war. Rynan also heard something about a Stark creating issues in his attempt to 'play hero', to quote Fury.

Tony Stark? The guy flying around in a suit of armor?

She didn't even want to know why Fury knew that man. They hadn't traveled in the same circles but she had heard his name thrown around quite a bit. He had a taste for the finer things in life: booze, ladies, thrills. He was a 'Grade A, narcissistic genius womanizer' who Hermione desperately wanted to meet. If there was one thing her friend found irresistible, it was intellect.

Which begs the question, why did she marry Ron, Rynan thought fondly for the millionth time. But they brought out the best in each other (and the worst). But they made it work and as it turns out, Ron isn't a total empty brain.

Really, they were the perfect pair and she admired how far they had both come since they were teenagers.

Light eyes followed her every movement. He knew what her ploy was, he had seen right through it the second Fury had entered his office with his orders. Fury was never one to let a mission get away so for him to give up, after all these years of humiliation, there was no way. It was personal for the man now.

Personal or not, it didn't matter what Fury said and SHIELD did, he knew Rynan was the real force behind the search. Her dedication was something to admire and he knew she had been the one to get the information from the now dead agent; he had reports that Interrogation Room A had gone silent for roughly 8 minutes the day he talked with her outside the Triskelion. He didn't know how but she had broken him. The man was barely coherent, bits of information slipping past his lips without his knowledge, almost like someone was controlling his mind. He was wary of killing her. If his previous attempts were anything to go by, she was a survivor. No, he wanted her alive. He wanted her studied, every inch of her taken apart and put back together under his control. He had ways of taming the unwilling.

She was adamant about seeing his asset once again, maybe he'd do her a favor. A cruel smirk crept across his face.

/

She hadn't been lying about heading the implementation team. With DC as ground zero, she had recruited Sam as her partner. She spent long hours at the VA going over logistics and evaluations with him. She wanted his input on what needed to be improved and what they needed to keep with the newly opening centers. There was no one she trusted more to get these up and running. She was sparing no expense.

Sam, ever the gentleman, made sure to catch her a cab every night they left. She rolled her eyes as they parted from their hug but conceded to his demands. He didn't know how deadly she truly was; that if anyone thought of attacking her, they would most likely be sent to the hospital.

She was running close to empty. She had three of her seven lectures down and was giving her fourth one this Friday. She was up by six to work on her speeches and by one she was meeting with Sam to talk logistics until nine. With each group meeting, she observed and asked questions to get a feel for what the people they were helping wanted.

"It's good, what you're doing. You're happier." Sam commented as he pulled away from their nightly hug.

Rynan hoped the dark hid her flush, choosing to wave him off instead.

"You're just saying that cuz I'm compliant and too exhausted to argue with you." She dropped her bag in the back seat and sat down, Sam closing the door for her.

Sam cracked a smile but said seriously, "I mean it, whatever you're doing, you need to keep doing it."

It the darkness of the night, it was just the two of them on the road, the taxi driver forgotten. She gazed into his chocolate eyes and saw nothing but warmth and concern. They were like two old souls who found each other's broken pieces. They both had a void in their life the other filled. Sam was her person.

"Good night, Sam."

He nodded to her as the driver took his cue and drove off.

Rynan thought about what Sam had said. She did feel happier. Her lips turned upwards, remembering her lecture last Friday with the sixth-years at llvermony.

/

_She stepped into the familiar room where she had already given two lectures. Professor Zilk sat in the back like he had done the previous times, handing the reins of his class over to her._

_This time was different. These were sixth-years, students who had passed their exams and were learning advanced defensive magic. These weren't bright-eyed first and second-years who were amazed at a simple disarming spell._

_Her stomach turned when all eyes followed her with rampant attention as she strode with confidence she didn't quite feel, to the front of the room. Questions began falling out before she even had time to introduce herself._

_"Is it true you know Hermione Weasley? The youngest witch ever the head the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"_

_"Do you really know Ginny Weasley?! She's like my favorite chaser of all time! Do you think you could get her autograph!?"_

_"Could you really produce a corporeal Patronus at 13? My father told me that even most adults can't produce a corporeal Patronus."_

_"Did you really defeat a hundred mountain trolls on the back of a dragon?"_

_"That's such a stupid question, Quinn. Everyone knows trolls don't move in that large of groups. There're solitary creatures with no more than five in a group."_

_"Hey! I'm not stupid!"_

_"I didn't say_ you _were stupid! I said your question was, stupid."_

_Rynan stood there, paralyzed. This was not what she had been expecting. Was this what she and her friends were like at sixteen? She watched as 'Quinn' and the other girl dissolved into a shouting match._

_She looked on in horror, was this what Teddy was going to become in a few short years?_

_She took down a Dark Lord, what were a bunch of teenagers?_

_A wave of her hand, a resounding 'BANG' reverberated around the room, drawing a hush as all eyes turned to her._

_"Now that I have your attention._

_"Yes, I do know Hermione Weasley. She has been my best friend since we were 11. Ginny is also like my sister and we played Quidditch together all the time growing up."_

_Looking to Quinn, she quirked her lips, "And no, I did not defeat a hundred trolls on the back of a dragon. My friends and I knocked a troll out in our first year and when we were 17, escaped Gringotts on the back of a Ukrainian Ironbelly."_

_The other girls' triumphant smirk was wiped away when Rynan detailed their exact exploits._

_"Now, I am not here to share my death-defying youth. I am here for one reason and that is to talk to you about how to defend yourself against the unknown. What to do when you suddenly find yourself facing death. What do you do when you're all that stands between the people you love and danger?"_

_The class turned quiet, completely captivated and enthralled by Rynan. Not a single person so much as moved as she went on to describe how even the most basic of spells could save their lives one day. Not even the bell got the students from their seats._

/

After that lecture, she knew she had nothing to worry about. After class, Quinn and the other girl – who turned out to be her best friend – approached her to talk about skills they would need to get into the Department of Law Enforcement. It was a little bit embarrassing how awestruck the two were by her and her friends. The two claimed both Hermione and she were their idols and they wanted to be just like them.

If made her chuckle, never having pictured herself as someone to look up to. She was a mess. Her life was a mess.

Her chuckle turned into a slight cough before they began racking her body. She couldn't breathe! Everything was getting blurry, her eyes struggled to stay open. The last thing she saw before slumping forward was the driver with a breathing apparatus.

Rynan laid unconscious in the back of the cab, having been caught out by the very people she had been looking for.

/

Eyes struggling to open, the lids feeling weighed down, Rynan tried to stop her eyes from rolling around. Something wasn't right…why couldn't she focus her thoughts?

…where was she?

…had she made it home?

Moving to sit up, her limbs were hit with resistance. No, it wasn't just her limbs; she couldn't move her entire body!

People in white came into focus and like that everything came rushing back. The car ride, it had been a trap!

She couldn't even talk as a strap was pulled across her mouth, keeping her head in place. She could feel the cuts littering her body, it seemed they had been impatient for her to wake up.

Pulling at the restraints, Rynan's efforts became more frantic as the seriousness of the situation hit her as her eyes followed a gloved hand lowering a scalpel beyond her vision.

The scientist working on her didn't even bother to acknowledge that she was awake. As the scalpel disappeared from her vision, she felt a searing pain flare up from her abdomen. They were cutting her open without any anesthesia!

Her vision turned red as she slammed her eyes closed, tears forced out the sides as her nostrils flared.

Memories began to flash before her eyes; it wasn't a HYDRA scientist over her, it was Bellatrix. All she could hear was Hermione's screams as she was forced to watch the crazy bitch carve her friends' arm. She could block out the sight but she could never block out Hermione's terrified, pain-filled screams.

The sound of flesh being cut, the feel of the skin spreading open, she could smell the copper mixed with antiseptics in the air…

She felt another scientist examining her arm where Wormtail cut her in fourth-year.

She tried screaming through the gag but even that was almost impossible. Her body thrashed and withered as much as the restraints would allow. Her eyes darted rapidly back and forth, counting three white coats in front of her and who knows how many out of her eyesight.

This wasn't right. This wasn't right. This wasn't right.

She could feel herself start to hyperventilate. None of her calming exercises were helping, the pain was too fresh for her Occlumency to work. Every cut brought her magic closer to the surface. She wouldn't be able to control it if it escaped.

This wasn't right. This wasn't right!

"Have you gotten her blood sample back yet?" She heard a muffled voice speak from above her.

"…normal…" The voices were going in and out as Rynan lost complete control of her breathing. No air was getting to her lungs as her chest struggled to expand. She couldn't feel her right arm anymore and the strap over her mouth was escalating her descent into hyperventilation.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe!

Involuntary, tears slipped down her face as her body struggled to get oxygen to her frantic lungs.

The doctors finally took note of the incessant beeping on the heart monitor to see that her heart rate had hit well over 190 bmp.

As calm as they had been since she had woken, the one examining her scar gave out orders, "Administering benzos."

Rynan wasn't sure what benzos were but she knew she couldn't let them give her any more drugs. She had to be coherent to get out of here, she had to get air! She finally let her magic go, lashing out at everyone in the vicinity and unlocking all the locks in the room.

Her hands pulled desperately at the straps, fingers ripping them off and throwing them across the room to get them away from her. She managed to pull herself from the table, heaving for air. With a few deep breaths, she could feel her mind begin to de-fog. The iciness of her skin hit her as she realized she was only in her pants.

Deep breath.

Sitting on the floor with her head between her knees calmed her heart rate and let her body and adrenaline come down.

It was getting easier, so the drugs must have been to stop her panic attack. She had to sit there for a few minutes as she regained her breath. Soon the dizziness went away and the feeling returned to her arm. She didn't even want to look at her abdomen, she grabbed the nearby wrappings and did a quick stitch and wrap job.

Thankfully, she still had her pants on, the only damage done was to her upper extremities. As she went to move towards the door, Rynan found herself on the ground. Damn, she had lost quite a bit of blood. Footsteps broke her line of thought. Adrenaline began to pump through her blood again. Screw blood loss, if she didn't get out of here, she was dead anyway.

She knew her best bet was to go towards the footsteps; casting a disillusion spell, Rynan stayed close to the wall, hoping the agents wouldn't see her.

It worked. They passed right by her.

The ground was cold on her bare feet and the air caused goosebumps to crawl across her exposed torso.

"Come on Potter. You survived Voldemort and all his crazy shit, these muggles should be a piece of cake," Rynan mumbled to herself to 1) Keep her mind from drifting and 2) Give her confidence. "You're underground: an underground, shelter house, a basement?"

She couldn't make out anything significant. All she could see was that this place used to be abandoned. Keyword: Used. If this was where HYDRA was operating, no wonder they couldn't find them.

She paused, there were more footsteps coming towards her but these were different. Why were they coming from behind her?

Her mind finally caught up. She hadn't bandaged her arm where the doctor had made an incision. Looking down, she saw her confirmation: there was a trail of blood leading right to her. Cursing, she wiped the excess blood on the wall before clamping her right hand over the incision to stem the flow. She continued to make her way down the hall, thankful that there were no turns.

"It's always you Potter, trouble always finds you." Rynan found talking to herself gave her mind a distraction from what her body was currently going through. "What the hell was the spell to heal wounds?" she cursed herself under her breath.

She knew she should've been paying attention all those times she was in the infirmary.

"Nulus Scartem…Vulnis Saneteria...Vulnera Sanentur!" she finally remembered the spell for healing. Concentrating, Rynan moved her hand over her forearm, mimicking the movements of her wand while chanting the healing spell. She saw the wound stop bleeding completely. Satisfied, she hurriedly removed her bandages to apply to spell. The blood flow stopped and she was just about to go over a third time to knit the wounds when she heard voices. Pressing herself against the wall, she quickly reapplied the disillusion charm. She cursed when she saw the bandages laying in front of her; there wasn't enough time to grab them.

An agent came over to examine them…She recognized him! He was part of SHIELD!

"Fan out, with this much blood she couldn't have gotten far." Rynan resigned herself to staying in her spot for a while. She watched them search up and down the hallway only to find nothing. She didn't dare move. The double agent was looking directly at her quizzically. She green eyes held his unknowing gaze, as her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest. She didn't even let out a sigh when he finally averted his gaze to focus giving out commands. When they finally moved out of her hallway, she moved her hand across her abdomen for the third time, knitting her skin back together. She grimaced when she saw her work – that would leave one nasty scar. She ran her hand over her arm one more time to knit the skin there back together as well.

That had been too close. She was sure the man had sensed something amiss. Her back slid down the wall, taking the minute she had been given to catch her breath.

/

She must've blacked out because the next thing she knew, she was jolted awake by a fairly large explosion. Overhead debris falling onto her and filling the hallway with dust.

'BOOM!'

Another explosion hit, shaking the building and causing more debris to fall from above.

Running towards the sound, hoping beyond hope she was right about what was making that sound, the sudden assault of light blinded her for a few seconds but when her vision finally cleared, she was amazed.

It was Hermione and Ron.

HYDRA agents were being blown back left and right. Rynan couldn't let them have all the fun. Raising her hand, she took out a large group near her.

"RYNAN!" Hermione yelled, rushing over to her best friend, Ron covering her back.

Frantic hands moved over every crevasse of her body, taking in all the injuries and blood soaking her pants. They were firm and demanding yet gentle in the way they probed her reopened wounds.

Rynan felt herself collapse into a safe embrace, her humor not lost now that her friends were here, "I'm a damsel, I'm in distress. I've got this."

The truth was, no she certainly did not have this. She could barely think straight and getting out of here was the only thing keeping her focus.

Hermione huffed, pulling her uninjured arm around her shoulders to help her walk, "Now is not the time to quote Hercules!"

Seeing that Ron had them covered, Hermione supported Rynan to the exit. Rynan was doing all that she could to help but it looked like everything had been contained already.

"You guys found me pretty fast, must be a record." With her eyesight finally devoid of white spots, she could make out the sun high in the sky, indicating it was somewhere around noon.

The area surrounding them was covered with black SUV's and armed personnel with SHIELD badge affixed to their uniforms. There were bodies littered around them, both dead and alive. The ones unfortunate enough to be alive were being rounded up and escorted into the vans.

"I don't know what drugs they gave you Potter, but you've been missing for the past three days."

Rynan recognized that voice: Natasha.

Three days? But it only felt like -

"How'd you find me?" Hermione had sat her down outside the general chaos, already tisking at her sloppy healing work.

"You gave Teddy that bracelet portkey connected to your magic. I went to Hogwarts when we couldn't locate you after two days," Ron answered, grimacing as she looked over her, taking his shirt off to cover her torso.

"Teddy?" she questioned, coherency coming to her in urgency, "Please tell me Teddy isn't here?!" Rynan begged.

Hermione pushed her back down, studying her face. She moved her finger in front of her face, Rynan obliging and following it with her eyes.

"Neville was able to stop him from following us." Rynan shot her best friend a thankful smile. She couldn't have Teddy seeing her like this.

The bushy haired woman leaned back, standing up once she was satisfied with her evaluation. "Honestly Ryn, your healing spells are atrocious. Didn't you pay attention to Madam Pomphrey?" she lightly reprimanded her friend.

Natasha, who had been hanging back, for the most part, observing the interaction of the three friends, stepped forward, coming to Rynan's defense, "Is now really a good time to be criticizing her?"

Hermione rolled her eyes while hiding a smile. If she wasn't nagging Rynan, she would be left focusing on the fact that they had almost lost their friend again. She didn't want to think on that at the moment. She had been putting that thought off for the past two days, convincing herself that if Rynan was dead she would feel it. She would somehow know it in her being.

"These spells, shouldn't they be healing her wounds?" Natasha questioned, looking at the still bleeding wounds.

"Ideally, yes. But I can't say for sure if there is internal bleeding and it would be counterproductive to heal the wounds only for them to be reopened again. They must've given her a coagulate or something similar because her blood had already clotted around each wound." It was something that bothered her. She didn't know much about medicine but she knew enough to proceed with caution.

Rynan was barely following the conversation in front of her, Ron the only thing grounding her to the present. He had moved to her side when his wife had stood up.

The conversation before them paused when a man in a black trench coat and eye-patch approached. Rynan was surprised Fury came to oversee the operation himself. Guess she was right about him, she thought as her body swayed forward slightly.

The director stopped in front of her, his one eyes assessing her condition.

He finally spoke, voice lacking the usual annoyance he reserved just for her, "It seems your plan worked, Potter."

The swaying was getting worse. It was like she was on a rocking boat in the middle of a hurricane. "This wasn't…how I thought…it'd go down."

Ron placed his hand on her shoulder to steady her as she swayed forward too far. The four saw that that was all they would get from her at the moment.

"Take her to the hospital; I want guards on a 24-hour rotation. No one gets in there but those present."

"Yes, sir." Natasha navigated the group to the waiting cars. Ron collected her in his arms, making sure his shirt kept her covered for both her modesty and against the chilly April air. Head nuzzled in the crock of Ron's neck, Rynan felt herself drift off to the smell of ashwood and linen.

/

It was a surprisingly quick recovery for Rynan. She was only in the hospital for observation while they acquired blood samples to see all that was put into her as she didn't have any memory till she woke up in the hospital.

She couldn't even use Occlumency; her memories were just black. She had never experienced something like this or even heard of it. It worried her that there were drugs that could do this to her.

Hermione and Ron both shared concerned glances when she woke up asking how she got here and when the two of them had arrived.

"Nick would be here but urgent matters took him to New York," Natasha supplied when Rynan kept glancing towards the door.

Natasha had volunteered to be her guard, keeping everyone but the doctors out. Even down, they didn't want to take the chance that HYDRA could retaliate. And with the condition Rynan was currently in, it would be all too easy to finish the job.

"He wasn't there?"

There was no need to ask who the 'he' was.

Natasha shook her head negatively, "No, but we have the cryofreeze machine. He's out and they can't ice him anymore."

If there was good news, Rynan could work with this. But that begged the question: what was more important than finally getting a HYDRA base? Rynan asked her question, maneuvering the IV cord so she could sit up.

"What's so important in New York that Fury gave up supervision on a HYDRA raid?"

"Someone who's fought HYDRA longer than you." Rynan didn't understand what that was supposed to mean. "Teddy should be here in about 20 minutes. Someone named Ginny is dropping him off. He was released from tomorrow's classes."

Rynan threw Ron, Hermione had gone home to be with their kids, a glare seeing as he had skipped out on that part, "Great because he really needs to see me like this."

"Come on, mate. Teddy knows most of the things we get up to. We've never hidden this from him." And that was the truth. From the moment Teddy learned to talk, he asked about his parents and Andromeda and Rynan promised to always tell him the truth.

"Hiding this from him is only putting him in more danger."

"I'd almost died four times by the time I was 14. I was fighting in a battle no adult wanted to fight in. I don't want Teddy to go through that. I don't want him to be dragged into someone else's war," Rynan winced as she jerked her arm too far forward, pulling at the IV and heart monitor cords. "And you're such a hypocrite. I know you don't plan to tell Rose about our adventures any time soon."

Ron rubbed at his morning shadow, his beard a few days old now but not very long. "Rose doesn't need to know about it. And if she asks," he shrugged, "We've agreed to tell her."

Rynan raised a black eyebrow in disbelief. She would believe that when she saw it. Rose was an inquisitive little girl, something she undoubtedly gained from her mother. She was willing to bet her little goddaughter already knew everything there is to know about her family.

Natasha pulled the visitor chair around to her side of the bed and put her feet up nonchalantly, "I'm not telling you to let Teddy fight but he can't be in the dark about all of this. He'll find out."

"How are _you_ giving _me_ parenting advice?" Rynan wondered aloud, not meaning it unkindly.

"I have a unique perspective," it was said with a forlorn look and Rynan was suddenly reminded that she and Ron weren't the only ones to spend their youth in war preparation.

Ron looked between the two, still not sure about the redhead but knowing if Rynan trusted her, she had to be somewhat good. Rynan was usually a good judge of character.

"When are you leaving for Russia?" Rynan changed the heavy subject, shrugging when Natasha raised her eyebrow. "Fury mentioned you were going out of the country for a bit. I took a wild guess."

"Worried?"

"About you? No. You can take care of yourself. Barton on the other hand…" She trailed off as they both laughed. Natasha's partner was known to get himself in very peculiar situations.

He really needed to get more guy friends. If only Neville wasn't stuck at Hogwarts for most of the year, Ron sulked in the corner.

**·**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tidbit here, the sceen with the panic attack/hyerventilation. That was based on my own experience with it. I'm not sure if I conveyed it properly but it's one of the scariest things that can happen...not being about to get a breath and feeling your body start to react. Get someone to stay with you through it or go to the hospital right away!
> 
> Also, if you have time, please check out my other stories and let me know what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We focus on HYDRA this chapter and people die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an extra piece that fits somewhere in the next chapter but has no real place in the flow of it. This doesn't really play that big in the grand scheme of things more of a filler that came to me.

Eyes widened in recognition and fear when his assailant entered his view. He had heard descriptions of him and to be honest they did nothing to capture the pure terror seeing the soldier brought him. Him, a trained SHIELD agent, knew he was no match against the being that stalked into his living room with barely a sound. His bullets did nothing against the metal arm he knew to be under the tactical jacket.

His fingers barely twitched to his cellphone before the world fell away from him as the force of the metal appendage smashed into his head.

The attacker grabbed the man by his hair and dragged him out of the apartment, eyes dead with no emotion flickering behind the tactile goggles and mouth set in a straight line behind his face mask.

_Mission Complete_

/

The body was dropped unceremoniously to the floor before two people swarmed to restrain the man to the center chair.

The room wasn't dark but it wasn't well lit either. There was just enough light to see a few feet around the center chair the man was now tied to. The room was old, clearly out of date and in disuse as the holes in the walls and debris on the floor could tell you. They didn't need fancy for this. This was dirty and dark and he wouldn't get out alive anyway.

Alexander Pierce strode in as calm as ever, his pristine three-piece suit clearly out of place in this setting. But he commanded respect as all eyes turned to him, awaiting orders.

His sharp eyes drifted to the man in the corner, the one responsible for the prisoner being here, and let a satisfied smile cross his features. Hs asset had completed his mission flawlessly. It was poetic, the man she was trying so desperately to save would be the source of her undoing.

"Soldier, training begins at 03:00. Afterward, I want you to submit yourself for testing."

It was clinical, no consideration that he had been up for close to 42 hours already and these commands requiring him to remain awake for another eight hours at least. But there were no complaints from the soldier, those dead eyes freed from the protection of his goggles and Pierce would always feel that smugness at seeing that look, at having defeated the man that had challenged him, dared to break free of his training. It gave him great satisfaction to see not only her failure but his success in wiping away what remained of James Barnes.

The soldier walked by with no hesitation, no disobedience, taking his orders like the dog he was.

With the face mask, Pierce and the other agent's failure to see the Asset clench his jaw.

/

Pierce looked down his nose at the man in front of him. He was nothing special. Just another SHIELD agents with a mediocre record. But he wasn't interested in the man's ability, he was interested in what he knew. And as a mainstay on Rynan Potter's team for missions, Maes Engelward was the perfect little toy for Pierce to get the information he wanted. Since his first mission with Rynan, he had been with her only all other missions. Outside Romanoff and Barton, this was the SHIELD agent closet to her. He would know any patterns, any abilities she could be hiding.

Dirty blond hair was yanked up, tired eyes struggling to focus. The image cleared and the man felt all brain function stop.

"You, you're HYDRA." There was no questioning tone. In this line of work, assessing the situation was always critical for survival. And his assessment concluded that if this man was here, unchained, staring down at him with those same eyes he had during briefings, he knew they had been betrayed.

There was no smile, not even a confirmation; the man motioned for a chair to be brought over and it was.

Weary eyes followed his movements, knowing that he couldn't fight against his restraints.

Once seated, the man crossed his legs and leaned back.

"You're probably wondering why you're here. We have a common friend and I'd like to know more about her."

What was he talking about? He had all the information on SHIELD agents already at his disposable.

"A Ms. Rynan Potter."

His blood ran cold and the man smiled, knowing he had him.

"What's there to tell? She's a spitfire with the luck of a leprechaun and nerves of steel." His eyes darted to the people standing off to the side. He didn't trust them.

He let out a harsh chuckle, "Oh, I know that. She has a talent for sticking her nose where it doesn't belong."

Engleward said nothing, gathering all the strength and bravery he could to endure what he knew would be his eventual death.

Pierce let a lip turn up, "Such loyalty. It's almost unnatural how she inspires others to her side." His eyes turned cold. "Loyalty does nothing for you now. You have two options: tell me what I want to know and you'll die quickly, don't and I will force it out of you with the cruelest torture imaginable and I will have my men kill your sister right before I kill you."

He struggled to not react to the threats, knowing that he couldn't do either. He couldn't betray Potter but he also couldn't let his sister die.

"No? You would choose a stranger over little Sophia? I'll be sure to tell her," he nodded to the people behind him.

Taken by surprise, Engleward didn't have time to do anything before his head was fully submerged in the water tank behind him. Water rushed down his nostrils as he thrashed his head, lungs full of water he had unintentionally breathed in.

Just when he thought he was going to black out, that he would drown, his chair was moved up, allowing him to cough up water from his lungs in hacking coughs that left his chest raw and his nose burning.

"She's only a girl, Maes. What has she done to earn your loyalty?" he softened his tone, painting Rynan as the cause for all this.

His head hung forward, trying to get what breath he could as he prepared himself to be submerged again.

His body seized, his nerves on fire. Blood filled his mouth as he bit his cheek open, trying to escape the pain of the electricity coursing through his body.

It went on forever. His spine arching against his binds, teeth feeling like they were about to crack, his head filled with noisy static yet no thought except pain.

A single sob escaped his clenched teeth before the current was terminated. Body still trembling, muscles out of his control, Maes wasn't sure he could hold out. He was a doctor, he knew the limits of the human body and mind. Being part of SHIELD, he knew the many ways to push both of these. There was no way to escape, no way to get the information out, that the person they had been looking for was right in front of them the entire time.

That Alexander Pierce was HYDRA.

It made sense. The attack in Ukraine, Potter's capture weeks ago, his interest in her. Potter had disclosed on their missions that she talked occasionally with the man and had gone on a few missions for him related to HYDRA.

How many more HYDRA agents were surrounding her? How long would it be until they uncovered her secret?

He was prepared for the submerging this time but it didn't make it any easier when his lungs began to protect, screaming for air. He had barely a second to gather himself before his nerves were on fire again.

It was an endless cycle and all he wanted to do was die.

_Why was he here?_

_What did they want again?_

After the fourth cycle of this, Maes lost consciousness, embracing the bliss of oblivion as his muscles spasmed and every breath felt like fire. He did even register the injection in his neck as his body slumped forward and his mind slipped away.

The promise of oblivion was not to be granted as hallucinated monsters clawed their way in from the outside of his mind.

/

Pierce was in a room operating as his office for the time being. He didn't want anyone handling the interrogation but him.

"Sir, shouldn't we be focusing our effort on Sam Wilson? They are extremely close, some reports speculate that they are involved intimately. She trusts him, would confide her secrets to him," the agent questioned his leader. He had been involved in the reconnaissance weeks ago in the lead up to Potter's capture. He had observed the two's relationship and saw that she behaved differently around him, opening herself up.

It was a good idea and something that had crossed his mind as a possible means to ending her but he discarded that. He knew Rynan and the type of person she was. She wouldn't tell him anything that could place him in danger. She would keep him in the dark and going after him would prove pointless in gathering information discretely.

Everything that man knew, Pierce knew already.

"I want to know how an untrained civilian can escape from the Asset with barely an injury. I want to know how she destroyed decades of programming in a single night. I want to know how she inspires such loyalty and admiration that –."

An agent stepped in the doorframe, drawing the two men's attention, "Sir, he's awake."

Good, Pierce thought. Maes Engleward was proving harder to break than he had anticipated. The man mainly operated as a medic so his resilience to torture was unexpected. He was probably using his training to compartmentalize the pain.

Entering into the cell, the man in question was a mess, a bloody, beaten, mess. But not yet broken. It had been two days of nonstop torture and the man had yet to give anything up. He was tired and confused but somehow he still held onto the sliver of lucidity that kept him from revealing Rynan's secrets.

"I would congratulate you on your loyalty, you'd make a fine HYDRA agent, but at the moment my desire for this information is greater." Moving closer and taking the offered syringe, Pierce stood over Engleward. "This is our newest truth serum. I hate that I have to waste what little we have on you but desperate times."

Engleward had enough strength to try and move his head out of the way but gloved hands held him firmly in place as the needle broke through his skin and the liquid flooded his arteries on the way to his brain.

Pierce stepped away to give the serum time to work as the doctors checked the prisoner. Getting the all clear, he began his questioning.

"Tell me about Rynan Potter. What is she hiding?" he commanded, losing his patience that it was taking this long to get information.

Everyone could see that the doctor was fighting the drug, veins bulging up from under his skin. It was still in the testing phase and there were complications, this being one of the reasons Pierce had yet to use it.

"What is she hiding!" he growled again, slapping the prisoner across the face. It seemed to work as he was speaking the next moment, head in the same position from the blow.

"…uncle…fought war…trained…"

"Her uncle? Does she have an uncle? I was under the impression the only family she had was her godson." The HYDRA commander gave orders for the information to be found and brought back. If she had an uncle that fought in the war and trained her, that would explain her skills and commitment to veterans. Was he Special Forces?

Finally getting some answers, Pierce relaxed into the questioning.

"I want to know what she did to inspire such loyalty from you."

Engleward began to struggle again but Pierce waited patiently through it, knowing that his serum would work.

"…saved my life…" he panted out, face red from exertion as his body pulled at his restraints.

Interesting. He had heard nothing in any of their reports from any mission concerning this. He only knew of Engleward saving Rynan on their first mission together.

"And when was this? How did she save your life?" he probed as shadows crossed the SHIELD agents face.

The light quality could be better but with their previous base being overrun by SHIELD agents, this was the closest base they could find that was operational. It lacked the sophistication of their other one but he wasn't one to complain seeing as his presence was rarely required.

A moment passed and then another with no answer.

"Answer me!"

A strangled moan escaped the man before he fell backwards, spine arching upwards as his body spasmed.

Pierce stood abruptly as the attending agents rushed to Englesward. Hands ran across every inch of his body as his binds were released to have better access to his vitals and stabilize his head.

Another agent approached with a needle and syringe but everything was over before the prisoner could be injected. All but one moved to stand up.

"What just happened?" Pierce demanded. They had been getting answers! Why did he suddenly die?

His attention was on the head doctor who had been in charge of keeping the man alive for questioning.

The agent in question shrunk back, "He suffered a stroke, sir."

"We can all see that," the sarcasm thick as he stared down at the corpse that had been his ticket to getting answers. "But why?"

"There-there's multiple reasons. His body was under extreme stress and combined with the serum which depresses the nervous system – the stress was too much for his body. There's also a possibility he had an undiagnosed brain aneurysm which ruptured due to his resistance to the serum and the stress of the last few days…"

Reigning in his emotions – he hadn't gotten this far by losing his composure – Pierce turned to exit the room, leaving the occupants to deal with the corpse while he figured out another strategy. Hopefully, the information on this uncle proved useful.

/

And it did. Just not in the way he was expecting. It's always said the past comes back to haunt us. Staring at the folder on his desk, the stinging loss of Engleward was dampened at the fruits of his confession.

It wasn't what he had predicted but it gave him answers to just what type of person he was dealing with.

They had the results from Rynan's blood tests and there was nothing different besides an abnormality they couldn't isolate. Genetically, there was nothing wrong with her but physiology, there seemed to be inhuman qualities about her.

Her body fought off the drug faster than a person her size and weight should be able to. They had catered the dose to be just above the recommended levels for her body type yet she had still woke up twice as fast. Her body seemed to adjust and respond quicker and quicker so that by the third day of her capture, she was only unconscious a half hour, not enough time for them to properly being their procedure.

He had ordered the go-ahead, wanting to see if it was only drugs her body responded adaptively to or if physical injury was included. She always bounced back from serious injuries faster than expected, though he saw her try to brush it off. The wounds from the failed attack in Ukraine that should've taken months of rehabilitation and healing was only weeks. She had her arm in a sling but he'd been able to tell that she had full function of it. Then there were her injuries when the Asset had first attacked her. With his strength, the blow to her head should've fractured her skull not to mention her trachea should've collapsed if the reports of strangulation were to be believed.

With the mention of her uncle, he had his agents dig into her past on all things related to her family. It was here he discovered her little secret called the Dursley's. And what a charming family it turned out they were. While he couldn't get any information from the uncle who tragically died of a cardiac arrest a few months ago – and had clearly never received any type of military training – old neighbors were only too ready to spill the family's dirty little secrets, and what secrets those were. With only a little digging, he was able to pull all her medical records before they stopped at age 11.

Apparently, she had been a 'delusional, ungrateful child, who went out of her way to make life difficult from her poor aunt and uncle who so graciously took her in when her drunk parents died in a car crash'.

Her medical history was lacking extensively. With the required physical completed each year and only one visit to an ophthalmologist when she was five-years-old, her medical history was vastly different than that of her cousins. She had only three visits for emergency treatment over a five year period but with multiple X-rays showing old fractured or broken bones that had never been treated. It was waved off as being an accident-prone child who loved to climb and jump off the stairs but Pierce knew better.

Her comment about not growing up with computers or phones painting a clearer picture.

His doctors looked at many of the injuries and found inconsistencies. There was a greenstick break on her right ulnar with a transverse break farther up. Two separate injuries that happened years apart yet when they examined the x-rays they took of her arm, those injuries were nowhere to be found. Scars to the bone don't just vanish.

He found yearbook pictures of her and she was vastly smaller than her classmates and her obese cousin. So it wasn't just physical abuse she suffered. How interesting that no charges were ever filed.

It seems no one in the neighborhood connected the delinquent Potter brat with the highly respected politician. Looking at the pictures, Pierce was hard pressed to find the similarities as well. But he knew those eyes. There's a fierceness in them that has been mocking him since her name entered his radar all those years ago.

But he knew one of her secrets now and this was only scratching the surface. Her parents hadn't died in a drunken car crash and there was barely any record of her father besides a deed for a house in Godric's Hollow and a marriage certificate to Lily Evans in 1979. Her mother had normal records until her death in 1981. Their deaths were never investigated further.

In their many talks, Rynan had mentioned that Teddy was her godson, his father being one of her parent's best friends. It came up that his parents had been murdered and the familiarity of the situation made him conclude that Lily and James Potter had been murdered as well and it was covered up as a drunken car crash. But why? Did it have to do with Rynan and her secret abilities?

He looked down at the list of living relatives and promised to pay them a visit. He was sure they wouldn't mind answering questions about their niece/cousin.

/

It seems her aunt had a change of heart later in life. From what his agents reported, she cooperated with them, telling dreaded stories of her horrible niece. She told them a lot of what they already knew and made her displeasure of her deceased brother-in-law known. They hadn't realized she was only buying time for her son to escape and disappear. They were still trying to figure that out as the house had been monitored and he and his wife weren't seen exiting.

Petunia Dursley died with a vicious smile on her face, accepting death, knowing her family was safe and rest easy knowing that in the end, she and Lily weren't so different after all.

When the people came asking questions about Rynan, they both knew something wasn't right. Whether it be something related to magic or trouble she found herself in in politics, no one would come to them with good intentions.

His mother had motioned for him and his wife, Isabella, to get refreshments for their guests.

Strange, considering his mother was always the one to handle serving guests, something she had done for as long as he could remember. Pulling Isabella with him to bring out the biscuits while he collects the beverages, Dudley pulled her to the side when they were in the kitchen, opening the supply cupboard door and pushing her in.

"Dudley?" Isabella questioned, her voice confused at what was happening.

He shushed her, hands struggling to reach his back pocket in the cramped space of the supply cupboard. While he was no longer overweight, he was built heavy with the muscle he had gained from boxing. "Izzy, I need you to get my wallet."

She did as asked, reaching into his back pocket and handing the worn leather to him.

Dudley opened it hurriedly, pulling out the one card he had never thought he'd need to touch. He remembered the day it was given to him and the promise of assistance if he ever found himself in trouble.

Rynan had found him after the war, just him, and told him that they didn't have to worry about Voldemort anymore. She didn't go into details and Dudley didn't want to know at the time. He was just relieved that magic wasn't in his life anymore and that his cousin had survived. Their meeting was barely five minutes and she left with a final parting, handing him a card for _WWW Weasley's Wizards Wheezes_ , with instructions that should his life ever be in danger, take the card and state _Ickle Dudleykins_ and he would be taken somewhere safe. That was a name only known to their family and he guessed she still had her sense of humor in making that the passcode.

Small hands grabbed his larger ones and he could feel Isabella's body tremble in the small confines of the cupboard. It was taking everything he had not to lose his composure as well but they had to get out of here. Taking her hands, he brought her in close to him, arms wrapping around her waist and whispering the passcode to take them to safety.

The tugging sensations tore them from their home, arms gripping each other tighter in fear of losing the other. The wet, hard surface of grass met their face a moment later with a loud bang signaling their presence.

Hurried footfalls sounded as the two muggle emptied their stomachs, trying to regain their orientation.

"Merlin's beard, are you alright?" Hands grabbed Dudley's arms, helping him up. "Good Lord, Dudley Dursley?"

Dudley focused on the man helping him up and couldn't really put a name to the face.

"Arthur Weasley. We met briefly when you were a teenager. My sons gave you chocolate…"

Right, now he remembered who the man was. This was the family Rynan stayed with over the summers, her best friend.

The man moved to help Isabella who was shaking and confused, head turning in every direction trying to figure out how they got here from inside their kitchen.

"How 'bout we step into my house for a sip of tea while you tell Molly and I what brings you here." Arthur had a calming hand on Isabella's shoulder, leading her to the Burrow a few dozen yards away.

This had to do with whatever happened with Rynan a few weeks ago. The girl was stubborn and refused to tell them when she was in trouble. They had only heard about the attack from Andromeda who had been informed by Teddy who had been pulled out of Hogwarts for a few days to see to his godmother while she was in the hospital. Even Ron and Hermione had elected not to tell them why they had suddenly dropped Rose and Hugo off before Hermione returned a day later, tight-lipped about everything.

They pieced enough together to paint a picture that Rynan was taking on more than she could handle and now her battle was touching more than just herself. An attack on the Dursley's was no accident; someone was sending a message.

/

Rynan doesn't know how to take the news that her aunt is dead. Unlike her uncle, where she felt a small amount of satisfaction, her aunt, if Dudley was telling the truth, had not only bought time for her only son to escape, knowing she was dead but lied to the people asking for information about her. Petunia could've easily exposed her magic and given everything she knew yet she didn't. She had chosen to protect her hated niece with her dying breath.

It was a sacrifice she was all too familiar with.

**/**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said it would be a while until the next update because of projects but I am feeling vindictive because no one in one of my research groups is doing their part, while I already have mine finished. So instead of helping them this weekend, I decided to write this little piece to distract me and let them freak out about it not being done and due this week! Sorry to those hoping this was the Battle of New York!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rynan is finally called out on her unhealthy habit  
> Quality Rynan&Teddy time  
> Battle of New York and Rynan being a badass  
> Surprise guest at the end

Ron left the room for a moment, mumbling something about picking someone up.

"Aunt Ryn." Teddy came bursting into the room unannounced, making the Rynan jump, though, Natasha had no reaction like she had expected him to come. She probably did, Rynan thought enviously.

"Ron didn't say what happened, just that you needed my bracelet! Are you fine, did you find him?" he started sprouting off questions faster than Rynan thought possible.

Rynan cut him off before he could get anymore questions off, "Yes, I'm fine. No, we didn't find him. Now, why exactly are you out of school?" She tried to scold him but failed to see his deep concern for her. She noticed Ron failed to return, the coward.

"McGonagall let me leave after my last class and gave me tomorrow off. Alex is going to take notes and all the professors are okay with me turning my work in later." He waved away her concerns, green eyes today, looking over her in worry. The only times she was ever admitted to the hospital was when she was seriously injured. He knew something was wrong the moment Headmistress McGonagall pulled him out of class to her office. When he saw Hermione there, his heart dropped to the floor, fearing the worst. There were no words to describe how he felt in those seconds, thoughts running wild with all the possibilities. He was distracted the rest of the day, unable to focus in class, thoughts still running through what could've happened to his godmother.

"That's Professor McGonagall, Teddy." The familiar reprimand fell from her lips on habit alone. It was almost a contest between the two, one of wills Teddy was still pushing.

"I'll let you children sort this out. I'll text you when I'm back." Natasha drew attention to herself as she got up from her chair.

"See ya, Nat!" Teddy called without taking his eyes off his godmother.

"I'll be here." Not like she hadn't seen enough hospitals in the last few years. She may as well invest in her own.

She had been cleared to leave that evening after the doctors failed to find anything in her blood to indicate what drugs her kidnappers had pumped her with. Her wounds were cleared and restitched, no major organs having been damaged. Thankfully, she had potions at home that would take care of the cuts and nothing required anything serious like last time; she had needed physical therapy for a few weeks to get normal function back in her arm.

"маленький монстр." Natasha smirked as her scrutinizing gaze shifted from his godmother to him.

"Mali – milan key monster?" Confused eyes turn to Rynan and she had to hold back her chuckles. His eyes all scrunched up, looking confused, was an adorable look. Instead of answering her godson, Rynan turned her attention to the retreating woman.

"I'm not sure you can appreciate the full irony of that name. And do you need to keep calling him that? He's not exactly 'little' anymore? "

And he wasn't. Teddy was about a half a head shorter than her at the moment.

Without turning around, the humor-filled response came, "Да." She paused at the doorway one last time, "And contact your sidekick. He's been harassing SHIELD agents for the last two days looking for you."

/

"Damn, what happen to you!?" Sam looked her over when she walked up to her door, having been waiting since she called him an hour ago.

"I pissed off the wrong people." She pulled her face from his hands as he tried to look her over, "Stop, you know I can take care of myself."

"Someone's got to watch your troubled ass while you're here." Sam turned his attention to Teddy, "I thought he was at school…in Scotland?"

Teddy bounded up to the door, unlocking it and holding it open for the adults, "Heyya, Sam! I just got in, took a portkey from Hogwarts to get here."

Rynan froze at the door, not daring to look at Sam as confusion spread across his face, "Y'all got the weirdest names for stuff."

Mouth shaped in an 'oh' form, Teddy clamped his teeth together and pulled his lips back, turning to his godmother, "I thought you'd told him!" he hissed out after their guest entered the house.

"No, I didn't tell him!" Taking a deep breath, Rynan calmed her racing heart, "Just go to your room. I need to talk to Sam alone." She wasn't mad at Teddy, he really hadn't known, it wasn't his fault. If they were lucky, they could brush it off as cultural difference.

Sam didn't waste any time setting in on her once Teddy was upstairs, shoulders squared, and eyes narrowed.

"This has to do with those people you were telling me about, doesn't it? You promised you weren't in danger; you said you'd tell me!"

She could tell he was hurt and he had every right to be. She had lied to him, to his face. There was no way she could argue with him on this which was why she invited him over, so they could talk about it. So he knew what exactly he was getting into. If he was skilled enough to engage SHIELD, he was already on HYDRA's radar.

"It wasn't supposed to go down like that. They caught me unaware." It was a pretty weak excuse on her part but it was all she could offer him at the moment.

"So this entire time…were you lyin about that too? You were happy, Rynan! You were out."

And that was what got him. She had gotten out and was finally happy, focusing on herself for once, putting her needs and wants ahead of others. To discover it was all a lie –

Rynan knew that and was devastated about what had happened. It was just another reminder that she could never have what she so craved. She didn't know why she bothered anymore.

"I made a promise."

"A promise that has almost killed you! Do you wanna die?! Cuz you're doing a pretty banged up job of trying to stay alive!"

They were both standing in the living area, Sam with his hands gripping the back of the sofa and Rynan standing vulnerable by the fireplace.

What kinda question was that? Did he think she was suicidal? That was the thing about Sam that made him so effective; he didn't need to raise his voice to make a point. He could rip your emotions out with barely a word raised.

"Yes, I want to live. I love my life, the people in it..."

In all her years, she had seen so much this world had to offer, the good and the bad. She knew there was still so much more yet to see. Being confined to her island nation wasn't enough anyone. There were people out there that she could help, places out there beyond imagination. She wanted someone to share that with. She averted her eyes from the mantle where her cherished pictures sat, reminding her of the adventures she had undertaken with her godson only a few short years ago.

"Then why can't you see that there are people here that care for you?! Who would be devastated if you died?" It was unspoken that he was one of those people.

She struggled to answer, to straight out deny his accusation but thinking about it, she had been careless with her life recently, throwing it away like it had no meaning, and she wasn't sure why, "I'm not – It's not that easy."

"From where I'm standing, it is." Sam was a tough love type of person when he needed to be. You had to want to make yourself better in his opinion. No one could fix you. He wanted her to see that it wasn't okay, it wasn't healthy what she was doing. Obsessively putting herself in danger for someone. It was fine for her to want to save James but not at the expense of her life. She had to see this and if no one else would call her out on her bullshit then it was up to him. It hurt him to see her close to tears but it had to be done. "You have to want it."

"I don't want to die!" She stated as convincingly as she could, tears close to spilling from her eyes, "I want to live. I want to see the wonders and beauty of this world. I want to see my family grow and be happy. I want to see Teddy have a family of his own. I want to know that everything I did, everything I've sacrificed...it means something!" She breathed hard at the revelation, as her desires spilled forth as if spelled out of her.

Silence followed. Sam letting her take the moment to compose herself and reflect on what she had just said.

Her eyes remained fixed on the mantle, taking in each picture, voice barely audible as she spoke her next words, "But how can I want when I can't even help one person? How can I want more when I already have so much?"

Little 10-year-old Rynan Potter would never believe she could have so many people she cared for and who cared for her in return. The 10-year-old her had been resigned to living a life utterly and completely alone. No one ever wanted her and no one ever showed her an ounce of love or affection. With so much now, how could she ever ask for more? What if, like everything else, she found that little extra and it was ripped from her like every other person she ever loved? Why wasn't what she had enough?

"Wanting love and happiness isn't selfish." What had she been through that she didn't believe herself worth love or happiness? That other people were more important than her?

"…But what if I try and I just get hurt? I don't think I'll survive it."

"And what if you don't? What if you think about yourself for once and you find happiness? Everything you've been lookin for?" He moved closer to her now, standing on the opposite side of the fireplace, keeping eye contact the entire time, Rynan helpless to look away.

"I'm broken." Broken in ways one couldn't even begin to explain, nothing but jagged edges and mismatched pieces.

A smile crossed his features, "I look at broken as a chance for something completely new." He pointed to the stained-glass window seated above the door, "Those pieces of broken glass were nothing, but someone saw potential in them and because of that, their brokenness became beauty and together, with other broken pieces, they became something beautiful, something to admire because despite what they thought, what everyone else said…they mended their broken edges and became something new, something better."

Her lip quivered and her nose flared as she struggled to keep her tears at bay. No one had taken the time to ever tell her exactly why she could be something more than broken. It was always just said to be something she would have to deal with and move on from.

Her tears spilled over, streaming down her face before she could react.

Sam looked unsure for a second before he made up his mind. He stepped forward and took her into his arms, keeping her in his embrace so she knew someone was here for her. He would be that someone for her if he had too.

Once she calmed down enough, Sam decided that was enough for one day and looked to break the mood, looking around her living room as, surprisingly, he had never been in there before.

"You were one hellofa cute kid." He had found the picture Hagrid had taken of the trio after their First Year Potion final. Rynan and Ron were so happy they didn't have to see Snape for the next three months while Hermione was stressing about a question she just knew she had messed up.

"Those were easier times."

"Like your time with James?" he inquired, placing the picture down as his eye caught another, this with an older Rynan and Teddy with an unknown man, one he assumed was James. "When you find him, what then?"

Rynan never really took notice of how everyone always said 'when', their conviction so strong in her they didn't believe she would fail despite years having passed. He asked a valid question though.

"I never really thought pass getting him back." There was never any reason to plan pass getting him back, assuming their lives would just fall back into place. But could they? Who knows what had happened to James since she'd last seen him. What if…what if…

Seeing her struggle, Sam intervened with another question, feeling slightly bad for taking advantage of her emotional state to get her to open up, "What makes you happy?"

"Helping people." It was a knee-jerk response, something she had been saying for years when people asked.

"Naw, I ain't gonna take that answer. That's like saying 'World Peace'." He cracked a smile, shaking his head.

"-That wouldn't be bad either," she huffed in frustration, the weight of the day finally settling as exhaustion began to take over. "I can't do this introspection thing with you tonight; I don't have the strength to do this."

"Fine, fine. Just make sure you lock up!" He knew he had pushed too far. It wasn't his intention to upset her, he just wanted her to see she had a life outside of fighting. He grabbed his jacket as they made their way to the door.

"Night." She called out to him as she shut the door, body sagging against the wood, his question still flowing through her mind. What made her happy?

Going to the bathroom to remove the hospital bandages and take the potions she had stocked up, she stared at herself in the mirror, trying to figure out how her life had gotten so complicated.

…Who was she kidding, her life had always been this complicated. But was she being too reckless? Her pale, bruised reflection was answer enough. She was arrogant, overconfident, reckless in her decision. And if it hadn't been for the portkey locked to her magical signature, would she have ended up like James? She'd lost two whole days with no recollection of what had taken place, if she had even been conscious. It was terrifying. At least under the Imperius Curse, you remembered what you did. With this, there was nothing. She felt like she was losing her mind, that bits of memory were slipping away no matter how hard she clung to them.

Fingers clenched at the porcelain sink in frustration as tears streamed down her discolored face.

"Aunt Ryn?" Teddy called hesitantly from the doorway, body hunched in, unsure of what to do.

Startled, she frantically wiped at the tears, hoping he hadn't seen them. "Ya –" she cleared her throat, voice catching of the vowel, "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, eyes scrunched up in concern.

He was back to his brown hair and light eyes. This was his appearance, no changes, no additions, just Edward Remus Lupin. It was in these instances that Rynan knew he was most sensitive. It meant he was worried, insecure, frightened.

"Of course, Teddy. Why wouldn't I be?"

He wasn't buying her act. The uniqueness of their relationship was that they could read each other fairly easily. Teddy had always been a bit too mature, more attuned to others, something both of his parents possessed. That meant he picked up on all of her habits and since he enjoyed spending time with her, they were very close even as he entered his teenage years, he knew all of her habits. If she was a stronger woman, she would dare to call him her son.

"Is your mind okay? You're not forgetting things are you?"

And his worry for her wellbeing made perfect sense. Despite how young he had been, he still remembered those years with James and the bond they had shared. He knew the horrors James had faced, how he lost chunks of his life, memories hidden away, some lost forever. He was frightened the same had been done to her.

"No," he leveled her with a look Remus had perfected in catching her out in a lie, "Yes."

This was not a conversation to be had in the bathroom doorway, the fluorescent light heating her skin.

Letting out a long sigh, one that seemed to do nothing to release the emotions building up inside of her. But she persevered and led him back to his room where they could have this discussion more easily.

Seating him on the edge of his bed, she followed, being careful not to stretch her healing skin. Her eyes found the room already messy, with his clothes from today thrown in the corner and his bag spilling its contents across the floor by his desk. She could feel Teddy's gaze boring into her, waiting for her explanation.

"The doctors couldn't identify the drugs in my system but they affected by brain. They said the memory loss should subside by tomorrow," _hopefully_ she added in her head. "For now, they prescribed rest and suggested I remain somewhere familiar in case there are unexpected side-effects."

Teddy sat there, absorbing everything. He didn't understand what was wrong with her, the extent of his knowledge with memory loss being the concussion he received last year during the Hufflepuff-Slytherin game.

"So, I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me. That's my job," she finished with a forced smile, knowing there wasn't much to convince Teddy that she was okay. He could be a worrier sometimes, so she was thankful McGonagall had given him the rest of the week off so he had time to see for himself that she was going to be okay.

Speaking of the Headmistress…

"You know I got a note from McGonagall the other day and I know she sent one to Andy as well." Teddy's back straightened and he looked away, finding the signed poster of his 'aunt' in her full Quidditch gear very interesting, already knowing what she wanted to talk about. "Why did you get into a fight, that's not like you?"

He waited a moment to see if she was really expecting an answer before blowing out the air he had been holding when she continued to give him the 'look', "He was talking about you, saying how you abandoned us. He called you pathetic." A scowl took over his face, cheeks crinkling as he remembered the incident. "He called me pathetic for thinking –."

He cut himself off, as if realizing who he was talking to. Rynan fully turned to him in curiosity, wondering what had made him cut off so abruptly.

"Thinking what? That's not like you Teddy. You don't get into fights for no reason, what did he say?

The Hufflepuff remained silent, mulling over if he should tell her. Gentle fingers carding through his messy hair had him relaxing, leaning into the touch. No matter how old he got, he would love his godmother with everything he had. They had had their fair share of arguments but nothing that wasn't talked about later. Even Victorie had commented once on their closeness and how she had started butting heads with her father and mother over Christmas break.

But Rynan, Rynan was different. She wasn't the perfect parent, she made her fair share of mistakes, even with his grandmother there helping. But he never doubted her love for him and her willingness to give everything up for him. He knew she had given up major opportunities for him and he knew it couldn't have been easy for her to take custody of him at 21 and the whispers that had followed about how shameful it was for her to be a single teen mother. Those comments were barely a blip on her radar though. He was never a burden and other people's opinion never bothered his godmother. She may not be his biological mother but she is the only mother he needed.

…so maybe it was time to tell her that.

"For thinking of you as my mother."

She froze at that six letter word as if it was cursed. "Teddy…we've talked about this. I could never replace Tonks."

"But that's what you can't see. I'll always love her, and the sacrifice my parents made, but you've been everything a parent should be. I have enough love to call both of you mum. Because you are more than my godmother and calling you Aunt doesn't encompass how much you truly mean to me. I've thought of you as my mother since I knew what the word was."

"A good parent wouldn't put you in as much danger as I have."

Teddy gave her a weird look, raising one eyebrow, "Are you talking about James and all of this?" he waved his hand haphazardly to indicate the mess she was in now. "Because you've kept me out of all this. If anything, I worry more about you. I can't lose you too."

Rynan looked up in defeat, knowing Teddy wouldn't have been able to resist eavesdropping on her conversation with Sam earlier. She maneuvered them back to rest against the headboard, pulling the covers over their legs.

"What I do, I do because it's the right thing. Something I've learned in all my 32 years, is that if you don't, who will?" Teddy pressed his cold, feet against her legs, sagging in defeat when she failed to react. "What Sam said, that's not the whole truth. I would never purposely leave you alone."

Silence descended over them, both letting the conversation sink in and dissecting the events of the past 24 hours. The silence of the house almost oppressing, just the two of them in darkness and what felt like an ocean between them.

Teddy broke the silence, sleep audible in his voice, "Why don't you talk about them anymore? You used to tell me all kinds of stories."

Rynan pulled the covers further up his body, taking the moment to think over the question. She knew who he was talking about but she didn't really have an answer.

"I guess…the memories just got too painful." She whispered into his hair, her lips lingering as she gave him a kiss goodnight.

He rolled to his side, curling up into his pillow, "Granma says that even painful memories can bring us happiness."

Rynan lay there for a moment, letting his words sink in…of course Andromeda would say such wise words. She had lost as much as her in the war. Any memories of her husband and daughter would be painful but she wouldn't want to forget them. She had to suppress a snort when she realized Andy would most likely hex her if she knew she wasn't talking about her family anymore. Curling up on her side, careful of her stitches, she watched the rise and fall of Teddy's chest, her breath mimicking his unconsciously. She reflected on their conversation and despite her efforts, felt heat blossom in her heart at the thought of him calling her mum. She already thought of him as her son but to know he thought of her as his mum and has since he could talk…it made the crappiness of the entire day completely worth it. She'd gladly go to war again to keep him safe.

For the first time in a long while, she allowed herself to remember her time with Sirius and the summer she spent with him and Remus. She let the tears fall as she was lured to sleep but instead of tears of sorrow, these were of happiness. Happiness that she had had this time with them, however brief.

Her dreams fought off the nightmares that night.

/

Life was pretty boring after getting kidnapped and experimented on by HYDRA.

Fury wanted her away from everything for the time being, a chance to clear her head. He was very considerate, all things considered. Didn't even take the time to rub it in her face how disastrous her plan ended up being (even if it worked exactly how they wanted it to). It didn't bother her that much. Natasha and Clint were both out on assignment, leaving her alone in DC with time to spend with Sam.

That night at her home wasn't forgotten but Rynan knew Sam was right and she vowed to do better. She needed to focus on herself more, find what makes her happy. While she wouldn't say she had wasted her life focusing her efforts on other people, she knew she wasn't okay. There was no denying that anymore and if she wanted to be a role model for Teddy or girls like Quinn, she knew it was time to change.

Her first step, rescheduling the last three lectures. She wanted to make sure these kids all had the opportunity to learn something from her, something that could one day save their lives. While she hadn't gone back to take her NEWTs, she had spent months traveling and learning from various magical societies across the world. She felt well versed in her defensive magic, something that always came naturally to her.

Life could fuck you over but it was your duty to get back up, to never give in. That someday, someone out there will give a damn enough to help you along.

It was the first Friday of May and she had just finished her morning lecture with the fifth-year students and was out with Sam, treating him to lunch. He knew she had taken up a guest lecturer position but gave up getting any information out of her when she refused to part with any details. Instead, he had fun spitting out random jobs he thought she could get into once her current project was finished and she stepped aside.

It was a warm day, spring finally in full bloom and they took full advantage of that by finding a patio café to take in the nice weather. They only had their drinks at this point, a soda for him and an orange juice for her, and Sam was quickly running out of optimal ideas and just going for whatever would make her laugh.

"You could be a life coach!"

Rynan rolled her eyes, biting back a smile. "Sure and all I'd have to say is 'Do the opposite of everything I do'."

Sam gave her that, "You do seem to piss a lot of people off." Understatement of the century. He rubbed at his two-day-old stubble, hmmming and ahhhing. "A TV commentator would be the perfect job! They live to piss people off!"

She actually did snort into her juice this time, coughing roughly to get the feeling of burning, acidic pulp out of the nose and throat. "The last thing I want is to be watched by millions of people."

"You could always open a business? You should open a bakery, that way I can get free food whenever I want and not have to wait," he said, swinging his hand in emphasis of their absent lunch.

She made a show of looking him over carefully, quirking an eyebrow, "I think you eat enough sweets as is. You should rethink those runs of yours."

Her laughter washed over the outside patio, drawing many looks in their directions but not for long as their attention turned back to the television everyone was gathering around.

Sam looked at her in betrayal, making a show to flex his biceps to show his bulging muscles, "This is all muscle, baby. Nothing but pure dedication and commitment to the –," he trailed off, attention going to the screen like every other person in the café.

"Sam? Hello?" Rynan waved her hand in front of his face, snapping her finers once, trying to get his attention. Following his gaze, she found herself transfixed on the screen as well, cold horror creepin down her bones.

It was a battle and if the scrolling across the bottom was to be believed, it was New York City. Rynan pushed people out of the way when she saw a flash of red hair and the glint of an arrow. She hadn't noticed Sam follow her, apologizing to those disgruntled patrons she had pushed out of the way. He looked at the screen closely as well, picking up on what had caught her attention, besides the obvious.

"Ain't that your friend from SHIELD, Natasha whats-her-face – the hell! What are those things!?"

Rynan stood, locked on the screen, her mind blank.

Worried that the scene may be causing unwanted flashbacks to her past, Sam moved to navigate her back to their seats but she refused. She brushed his hand from her elbow, hand moving to her mobile, eyes never leaving the scene less she miss something. What was going on? What had SHIELD gotten itself into now? That was midtown Manhattan and that building was Stark Tower.

The camera finally got a good angle of Natasha and the man with her who was definitely not Clint. She stopped breathing, unable to believe the sight in front of her. Sam was able to verbalize both their thought, "The hell? – is that Captain America?"

There was no denying who the man was as he shot Natasha into the air. That shield had been lost with Steve Rogers almost 70 years ago. For this man to have it…Natasha's comment all those weeks ago finally made sense. Fury had gone to New York because of this man. This man who was supposed to be dead just like his partner.

Steve Rogers, James Barnes' best friend, was alive.

The camera became static as the last image imprinted on the observer's brain: the aliens were overrunning New York City.

That was enough for her. She had her time to process, now was the time to act.

She brushed by everyone, her movement the cue for a mass panic to being as everyone began running out of the restaurant. Rynan grabbed her bag from their table and hopped the little patio fence, her necklace bouncing on her chest from the motion. She needed to get somewhere isolated. Woolworth Building wasn't located far from where that weird portal in the sky was. She needed to check on MACUSA and get the word out to the ICW if it hadn't already been sent.

Sam jogged next to her, pushing people out of their way as they made the familiar trek to her home.

Rynan held her mobile up, impatiently waiting for the ringing to stop, for someone to answer.

"Now is really not a good time, Potter!"

Of course, it wasn't Fury, "That's a bloody understatement, Hill! What the devil is going on?"

There was yelling coming through the other end, Rynan pulling it away from her face for a moment so she didn't hurt her eardrums.

"We have a team trying to contain the threat. We're not getting help with this." Hill voice was barely concealing her emotions, Rynan could hear the fear lacing her words. Shouting took over again before static and a dial tone.

She knew what she had to do.

Waving her hand, Rynan ran into her house as the door swung open, ignoring Sam as he halted in shock. Grabbing a piece of parchment and floo powder, she jotted down a quick message and instructions before throwing it into the fire after the powder. That done, she finally turned her attention to Sam who was staring at her in disbelief.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you right now, Sam. Magic is real, I'm a witch, and aliens are attacking New York City." She threw on her dragon-hide jacket and boots, standing straight to address her friend, "I know this is a lot to take in but right now I need you to go down to the VA. There's going to be a lot of people who need your help. I'll explain everything when I get back, I swear."

God bless Sam and his absolute commitment. She knew she had lucked out, finding him as a friend. With a threat that this conversation wasn't over, Sam was out the door, already talking with fellow counselors about getting to the center to set up emergency services.

Finally alone, Rynan paused, remembering her conversations with Teddy and Sam only a few days before. She couldn't be reckless, she needed a plan. But she was never good at plans, they always blew up in her face. Urghh, what should she do!?

"Don't do it Rynan…Don't do it. Fury has it handled, don't get involved." She honestly wasn't sure what she could do to help. But she also knew she couldn't just sit back as aliens attacked their world. If the team Fury sent couldn't hold them off, the rest of the world would be defenseless. She couldn't let that happen.

Screw it, she was going to Woolworth and she would plan as she went. Gripping her holly wand and storing the Elder wand in her wand holster, she apparated into what she hoped was the basement of MACUSA. If the antiapparation wards were still up, she would appear in front of the building. She was prepared for either.

'CRACK'

Feet smacking the concrete, body jerking forward, Rynan threw up a hasty protego just in case anything unsavory was in the vicinity. Pausing long enough to assess her surrounding and conclude there was no immediate danger, she let out a breath, not relaxing in the slightest. If she had learned anything from Moody, it was constant vigilance. You never knew what was lurking, prowling for the perfect opportunity to strike. She would not give her enemies that chance.

She had been successful in apparating to the basement, something she didn't celebrate as this meant the wards were down around the building. She could feel the ambient magic as it crackled and pulsed, pushing for that last breaking point to release the tension. Not only could she feel the chaotic magic around her, she could see the dimensional shifts like a shimmer that caught one's eye. The magic separating the two worlds in this building would tear it in half if not outright blow it up. They would merge and everyone in the building would die of spatial dimension displacement, similar to splinching oneself only immensely more grotesque and fatal. It was essential that MACUSA survive this, that they come out with scrapes and cuts but alive.

Grabbing hold of the nearest pillar as a tremor went through the building, Rynan knew that the structure wouldn't last much longer. Praying, hoping, that a few people were as idiotic as her and remained, her voice rang out, begging for survivors to answer her.

Another tremor rocked the building, this time not from the unstable magic. Something heavy had hit close by outside. Chucks of ceiling, of carved stone, rained down in yet another threat she would have to face.

"Dammit!" she cried out as she barely dodged another section of stone. " _Protego Maxima!_ "

It was the only spell that would come to mind and it did its' job. The ceiling still shook but nothing fell. She could feel the strain on her magic already though. It felt like she was holding the entire weight of the building, that she was Atlas with the world on her shoulders, of all the lives still in these four walls, it was her suffering that made her strong and with a conviction unheard of, she mustered another spell with the elder wand slipping easily into her hand like it was always supposed to be there. It sung in pleasure as her magic coursed through it for the first time in fourteen years.

" _Cave Inimicum!_ " Columns were transfigured from fallen debris, erecting up from the floor, driving into the ceiling, into the very foundation, spreading her magic in hopes of bringing the building just a little bit more time.

There was no time to let out a sigh of relief when the magic held as it took all her concentration to hold tight her magic.

A voice rang out as she heard running footsteps approaching her direction. Sweat was gathering at her brow at the strain on her body and magic, condensing together to form droplets that ran down her face. Her hair whipped around her face as the magic laid heavy in the area, creating a physical manifestation of its presence.

"Down here, Bernie!" She croaked out, recognizing the voice. The older man came into view and Rynan could see that the man must've been in parts of the building that had begun to collapse as he was covered in dust and blood. "Is anyone else here? Have the creatures gotten into the building?" she bit out as she felt the magic falter, pushing her further to her knees.

Three more aurors appeared behind him, looking slightly better off.

"The President –," _Merlin, he hadn't been killed, had he?_ "He's ordered an evacuation of the building. Every worker is to evacuate to Boston IWC." one of the Aurors informed her.

She moved her eyes to Bernie's, hoping what his partner said wasn't true. Searching them, she could tell they weren't lying.

"What?" she breathed out in disbelief. "What about the people out there? We could help them." Another tremor hit the building and she could feel the wards beginning to fracture, pushing her further into the ground, one knee bracing as she pushed more of her magic through the Elder Wand. "The wards are about to break and when they do, this entire building will explode from dimensional instability. People within a mile radius will die, MACUS will be lost and Quahog sent the best fighters and warders away?!"

The building shook again, visible cracks appearing in her shield and the transfigured stone pillars.

"The no-maj can protect themselves, we can't risk exposure." An Auror responded, taking a place in one of the four corners with little prompting, realizing Rynan couldn't hold the building up by herself.

"Can't risk–?! People are dying out there and instead of doing something, your President runs and hides!? What about the witches and wizards out there in the middle of this battle, dying!?" Rynan's eyes blazed with anger. Of all the cowardly things…they could've done something!

"We've done what we can Rynan. Our priority now is to stabilize the wards." Bernie directs her anger towards himself, knowing she wasn't pissed at them but the situation. "Everyone take a corner and repeat after me."

The other two followed his directions, holding both wand and hand up. Rynan conceded this battle, prioritizing the reconstruction of the wards before her anger at the injustice of the situation. With her as the center pillar of concentrated magic, they reconstructed the wards around her, using her power to create the magical network and weave the matrixes of the dimensional magic and layering them with reinforcing spells. It was rudimentary and quick, not at all up to standards, but it would hopefully hold the building until such a time the warding department could return and reconstruct them correctly.

Rynan could feel the magic flowing through the air, twirling and wrapping around her, lightening her load as she pushed her knee off the ground, the strain becoming lighter and lighter until she was able to pull her magic back completely.

Another tremor shook the ground but nothing happened with the building, their magic holding it up. The five let out sighs of relief as they slumped forward. It was a draining process but Rynan wasn't done yet. She had come to help and with the building stabilized, she had to move on.

She replaced the Elder Wand back to her wand holster, brushing her hair out of her face, hand coming away with drops of blood. Putting her hand back to her face, it came away with more blood: her nose was bleeding.

Brushing off that detail, she made her way to the exit, Bernie stepping to block her path, determination etched across his face hoping to be the convince her away from her endeavor.

"President Quahog has ordered the evacuation of every MACUSA worker to Boston. I can't stop you if you want to stay and fight but we can't send in reinforcements. You'll be on your own," the old Auror explained. He knew what she was planning on doing and he knew he couldn't stop her but she had to know no one was coming to help, she would be on her own.

"I'd rather die doing something than live doing nothing." Her black hair whipped around her as she turned to the lift for the first floor. Bernie watched solemnly as the doors closed on the magical warrior, her power visible in that very instance, bringing forth the stories he had heard told of her during their war. He desperately hoped that that warrior was still in there, having caught glimpses of it earlier, and that she would return alive. He had learned early on, people like Rynan Potter were not long for this world. Their spark burned so bright and powerful that there was not enough to keep them going. Chaos calls to them and in chaos, they meet their demise.

The metal creaked and groaned as it pulled the lift up the single story; adrenaline pumped through her veins the closer she got, the anticipation building as the thought of what awaited her outside those doors drew nearer. Moving cautiously out of the lift to the exit, she could hear the explosions and screams and gunfire. A shiver of fear coursed through her body before she hardened her skin and raised her head in determination. Casting a disillusionment charm over herself, she stepped into a war zone.

It was so much worse than she imagined. She was struck, paralyzed, at the sheer devastation of everything. How could this be New York?

Those creatures were truly ghastlier in real life. They were everywhere: on the ground, in the sky, on the buildings. Their flying machine patrolling the airspace, hunting, searching for a new target.

Swallowing what little salvia she could produce, she took off in a random direction, feet pounding against the slabs of concrete as she had to jump across spaces, dodging large piece of building, and using smashed cars as propellants forward.

Cries to her left caught her attention, not bringing her to a halt, merely changing her course of direction. It was a group of high school students, her mind supplied as they were still in uniform, backing away from one of the advancing creatures. They were pinned down, no way forward and their exit cut off behind as the building was on fire. There was no thought in the attack, the spells flowing instinctually from her wand.

A flame-freezing spell was her first action. " _Flipendo._ " Her next spell sent the kids through the cool flames, away from harm, while a well-placed _diffendo_ managed to direct the creature's attention to her but because she was under the disillusionment charm, it couldn't tell where the attack came from. Capitalizing on its brief moment of confusion, she sent out another severing charm.

The spell did little damage on the armor but she did see the cut on its arm. Good, their skin wasn't impenetrable. Running towards it, she sent off another chain of spells. " _Brachiabindo. Confundo. Confringo._ " The creature didn't stand a chance once she aimed for its exposed neck. Falling over, Rynan was surprised by the lack of blood. Moving closer to inspect the corpse, kicking away its fallen weapon, she was filled with confusion. There was clearly blood but there was also destroyed machinery, circuitry running along the exposed bone almost as if it had its own artificial nervous system. Feeling herself about to be sick at the thought and sight, Rynan turned away – she didn't have time to get sick over this: there was plenty more to take its spot. And like clockwork, they appeared, moving in on her together. No caution or reserve…and that would be their death as they underestimated her.

" _Impedimenta. Incendio_." The resulting inferno incinerated the corpses and using the momentum she had gained, Rynan pushed off the surrounding debris until she found herself out of range of the heat and about four meters up on a fallen piece of building. Eyes scanning the area, she concluded that the immediate threat had been eliminated. Her disillusionment charm having been broken during her first assault, she turned too wide eyes staring at her in reverence.

Eyes raking over their forms for injuries, there were none, she motioned them urgently forward, "Quickly! There's a path up ahead were officials are directing people out of the city."

The seven teenagers took the orders and rushed in the direction she pointed out, desperation clear in their movement but also a bit of hope, the thought that maybe someone or something was looking after them. Rynan observed them, noting for any movement that indicated they were in danger. She saw nothing.

"Miss?" Rynan looked down, startled, having expected all of them to have made a run for safety. It was a young girl, probably 14 or 15, covered in dust and blazer missing a sleeve. But the way she looked at Rynan like she was her hero, had her eyes turning soft for a brief moment. "We won't tell no one."

It was only five words but Rynan knew, she just knew the girl understood. And with her bit said, the girl ran off to her friends who had stopped to wait for her. They threw one last look over their shoulders before they took off to safety.

Turning her attention back to hand, she had a clear vantage of the next few blocks, able to identify police officers evacuating people into building while others ran in the opposite direction of the fighting. To be honest, there weren't many places for the people to run. The creatures had a clear advantage with their aircraft but if they could get out of sight, it could buy them time.

She flinched as above her, windows shattered as something large smashed into the building and in a flash, it was taking off again at one of the nearby aircraft.

Movement caught her attention, diverting her focus to a creature advancing on a trembling figure, prompting her into action once again.

" _Molliare_." Cushioning her fall, Rynan sprinted off, apparating the small distance, her left hand casting a freezing spell when she appeared again while her wand slashed, obliterating the creature. She didn't even spare the body a glance as she gathered the figure into her arms. It was a little boy, maybe 5 or 6, crying out for his mom.

"Shh shh," she tried to soothe him. "I'll get you out of here and then we can find your mummy." His brown, puffy eyes looked at her in fear. He was so scared, tears streaming down his face as sobs racked his body. His hands gripped her dragon-hide jacket, as she readjusted him so she could move more efficiently, his sobs spurring her forward.

The world exploded around her as creatures began pouring down from the buildings, dropping off from the airship she had noted before. Her arms instinctively encircled the boy, taking the brunt of the attacks. Her protego came a little too late but it protected them from the remaining assault that rained down upon them as she used her body as a shield. Getting up from the ground, keeping the boy behind her, her hand clenched her wand a little harder. There were too many! At least fifteen were already on the ground, advancing towards them. They seemed more cautious than the ones she had faced before, her display of magic having taken them by surprise. It didn't last for long as they knew they outnumbered her.

She couldn't outrun them, not with the weapons they had but she couldn't just stand there, waiting for her death. Switching out her wand for the Elder Wand, she had her left grasping out for the boys smaller hands, squeezing it to reassure him. Eyes steeled, smirk on her lips, she threw her most powerful _bombarda maxima_ at their approaching forms not wasting any time from when the spell left her wand to twisting her body and pulling the small form to her chest, instructing him to wrap his legs around her waist and his arms around her neck as she made to put distance between them.

He complied easy, his grip a bit too tight as it took her a moment to catch a breath but that was irrelevant as her legs began to move. She heard the explosion, the limbs once again tightening as the head buried into her neck to hide his face, but she dare not look back to see the damage. Waving her hand, she cast a wandless levitation spell to put some objects between the attacks and themselves, small pieces of debris floating up into the air to create a barrier of sorts.

Her body was beginning to protest the movement. She had used too much magic in a short amount of time and there were consequences, even for her. The Elder Wand was the source of much of her power now.

She didn't make it far before a pair jumped down in front of her from a nearby building, effectively cutting off her exit. They were trapped in the street section the nearest intersection a ways away. Not seeing a way out, she coaxed the boy's head from her neck as she came to a stop. She found herself looking into his eyes, so innocent and scared as they put their trust in her to keep him safe. Her heart clenched as she was reminded of Teddy; they shared the same look. Her resolve strengthened – he would get out of this alive.

"It's going to be okay. I'll get you outta here, I promise," she spoke softly in a rush, her necklace biting into her skin where it was trapped between their two bodies. Blindly unclasping her watch, she rushed a muttered _portus_. Placing him on the ground, a quick glance to see how close their enemies had gotten, she pushed the portkey into his trembling hands, giving him swift instructions as they didn't have much time.

"Hold on tight, do not let go, no matter what! This will take you somewhere –." She had to pause as she moved to dodge a beam shot from one of those creatures' weapons. Throwing up a _protego_ in response, Elder Wand outstretched, she hurried to give the rest of the instructions. "Say Rynan Potter sent you. And you'll be fine."

Her body was weak, all her power going into maintaining the shield that was now protecting them from beams on all sides. Pulling at the deepest parts of her core, trying not to break her concentration on the shield, she brought forth the magic needed to activate the portkey. If she let the shield fall, they were dead for sure. She felt the shield fracturing as she poured more magic into it, trying to find an opening to activate the portkey. An explosion sounded above them. Startled, Rynan turned her gaze upwards and saw that one had physically attacked the shield from above. She stared in horror as the fractures grew.

Knowing it was now or never – she had to buy him three seconds, that was all he needed to get out of here – she gathered what little remained of her strength and threw out her hand towards the watch, activating the countdown just as the shield shattered, not strong enough to hold up against the attacks anymore, sending her to all fours.

He only needed three seconds…

Frightened by the explosion of the shield, the boy startled, dropping the watch as he brought his hands to shield his ears. Her eyes grew wide as the next second she watched the watch disappear without the boy.

"No." It was a whispered plea as his frightened eyes were cut off from her as the creature that had been on top of the shield landed between them. It was turned towards her, its weapon already aimed and ready to fire as its allies fired up their weapons as well. There just wasn't enough time now, her wand lying where it had been dropped when she had fallen.

She stared defiantly at it, not afraid of what was to come, saying a silent goodbye to Teddy in her mind.

She resisted the urge to close her eyes as she saw the finger move to the trigger, not knowing if it would be a painful death, as 'quick as falling asleep' as Sirius once claimed.

Just as she accepted her fate, that this was the end of the road for her, the creature was taken out by a green mass which pummeled it into the ground, leaving a sizeable crater in its' wake. Roaring in triumph, shock froze her as those terrifying green eyes so different from her own turned onto her. Not daring to move, her survival instincts telling her to remain still, its' hulking body easily dwarfing her as it readied to pounce once again, easily dismissing her. Flinching as the earth shook, indicating he had landed behind her, she dared not look back, picking herself up without thinking, collecting the boy, and running as fast as her exhausted body would let her. A path seemed to open in front of her as the beast drew the surrounding creatures to him in a challenge.

The boy was crying again, she wasn't sure about what this time but she couldn't blame him with everything he had seen today. She looked for the policemen she had seen evacuating civilians earlier. A cry escaped her lips as they came into view, one of them running to her when they saw her with a child. A voice penetrated the surrounding noise of destruction, drawing her attention. It was a man sprinting towards her, yelling a name, "Roman! Roman!" The boy's head moved as he began to struggle from her embrace, kicking out and releasing his hold on her, tears turning into hiccups. "Roman!"

Her suspicions were confirmed when the now identified Roman began shouting for his mom. Placing him on the ground, she watched as he was collected into the relieved arms of his mother. Tears turning into ones of joy as he was finally reunited with his family. Exhausted, hurting, and emotionally exhausted, Rynan knew it was totally worth it to see this. To see this family reunited. Her arm spasmed as she tried to move it forward, the muscles locking together causing pain to radiate down to her fingers. _Damn it_ , she thought that wound had healed. Sure she had been in physical therapy for it but she had been progressing nicely the last few weeks; she hadn't any pain or discomfort and was back to normal functions. With everything going on today, it must've been too much for her still strengthening muscle. Putting the pain in the back of her mind for now, she focused on the people in front of her.

"Thank god you're alright! Thank god!" His mother cried into his son's hair, gripping him as tight as he could. Satisfied Roman was in safe hands, Rynan made her way back to the fighting, ignoring the police officer's demands for her to follow them to safety. She had one more place to check, doing what President Quahog was too cowardly to do. Before she departed, Bernie had told her to check the New York Underworld, with the nearest entrance being about three blocks away at Chambers St Subway Station. It was set up as a shelter of sorts for those with magic to go in the event MACUSA ever fell and they couldn't escape the city. It was heavily warded and situated to protect the inhabitants from surface attack.

Those people seeking shelter deserved to be informed that their government had failed them, choosing to save their own skins. Yeah, she was still fucking bitter about the entire situation. It was their job, their sworn duty to protect these people.

Pushing on despite her injury, those few moments of rest had given her magic time to settle back, not enough for her to get into another fight like before but enough that she could fire a few freezing spells at the creatures crawling on the buildings, gaining satisfaction seeing them fall. They didn't move but Rynan didn't stop to check if they were alive, hoping the fall had killed them. She would think about the stickiness on her arm later, for now, she created a makeshift sling with her jacket and rested her arm there.

Next time, next time she was bringing potions with her, she swore, maneuvering around pieces of fallen building.

Before she could get to Chambers St, the creatures around her – and she assumed the city – dropped to the ground unexpectedly, unmoving. Tense, unsure of the meaning, she shifted her gaze to the sky where she saw the portal begin to close, the energy keeping it open having vanished. So Fury's team had done it, they'd actually won.

With the creatures taken care of, Rynan ran without care the quarter of a block to her destination, careful not to jostle her arm too much.

Bernie was right. The people that could escape, they had come to the Underworld. It wasn't just people, the magical creatures of New York were gathered there as well. All eyes shifted towards her when she entered the shelter. Worry, fear, confusion, and anger…those were the emotions reflected in the eyes she observed. There would be calls for President Quahog's removal after this. Leaving his people helpless while he ordered his Aurors to Boston.

With little difficulty, in light of what she had just witnessed, she announced that the attack was over, they had won.

People moved near her, some reaching out to help when they noticed the blood on her clothes and face. Murmurs spread at her announcement, one or two 'cracks' resounding as few moved to validate her claim. Gasps rang out as she pushed her grimy, sweat-soaked hair out of her face, revealing her famous scar. The murmurs turned to shouting which turned to cheers as they were able to identify their hero.

She gained a new title that day, one, if she was being honest with herself, she didn't quite mind: Rynan Potter, the woman who defended New York while Hoggy disappeared like a coward.

So it wasn't the best title but she had made a difference. She'd saved lives today.

And that was a good day in any book. Now, she really just wanted to see Teddy.

/

This was the longest the Asset had been out of Cryo. He was on standby for missions as his handlers prepared to move. Their position in SHIELD was fragile, what with Fury hot on their tail and the finding of Steve Rogers. They thought it advantageous to withdraw for the time being.

He was under constant supervision as the scientists didn't know the effect of the mind wipe not being used as often, if the effects would last that is.

The Asset was sparring an agent, easily beating him, when a memory flashed before his eyes. Instead of the 6'1" man, pinned under him was a 5'5" black haired women.

_"That's not fair James! You have a super arm!"_

"Еще раз." He shook the memory away. It was irrelevant.

This time the agent had a knife to his throat, his dark green eyes showing a flicker of fear. Another pair of green eyes were staring at him, these one's emerald.

_"James, you promise to be back for Teddy's birthday? He's been talking about it nonstop."_

_"It should only be a few days, I promise."_ He could hear the pain in the voices speaking, like this was a common occurrence.

 _"Aunt Ry! Don't let James leave yet!"_ A ball of turquoise blue shot into the memory.

Blue…Blue hair…blue eyes…blue uniform…

The knife pressed a little further as he struggled to push back the memories and emotions that were beginning to flood his mind.

"Еще раз." He was brutal. The fight didn't even last five seconds before it was over.

"Again."

Each fight was as brutal as the next. He was on autopilot, going through moves that were as natural as breathing for him.

His gun was in his hand ready to shoot before anyone knew what happened. The intruder, Rumlow, calmly entered the training area.

"We have a mission."

This broke the onslaught of memories, switching to mission mode. The Asset stood, gathering his weapons and gear before following Rumlow out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don't know how excited I am that we are finally here, at this point! I loved writing this chapter so much and at over 10k, this is the second longest chapter so far. And it shows with how much was crammed in here. Sam and Rynan got a little carried away with their scenes and might have moved past platonic :)
> 
> There were a crap ton of revelations in this chapter, let me know which one was your favorite! It's hard for me to pick so let me hear your opinion!


	13. Chapter 13

It was only two weeks after the Battle of New York that HYDRA struck. They were losing their control over the Asset and Pierce was considering sending him out to the old Soviet base where the initial cryo took place for reconditioning. He had one last mission though: To kill Captain America. He had seen the footage of New York and knew if left alive he would become dangerous.

The Asset stood under the cover of darkness, his sniper trained on the lonely figure. He waited, breath exhaling softly as he steadied his body, calculating the trajectory needed to make his shot. The weather was calm, as it had been the last two hours he had been stationed here. His finger applied slight pressure to the trigger before releasing the digit.

His shot was blocked by a newcomer; the man intercepted his target before the man could enter the building. All the years of training, beaten into him, assured he would not move from his position. Instead, he observed his target through his scope, waiting for the newcomer to leave. When the conversation moved to the apartment, he moved his scope methodically to the upper windows, waiting for his target to enter his apartment. He could maintain his post for hours if need be.

The newcomer, Anthony Stark, forced a re-evaluation of his mission parameters. He hadn't been ordered to kill the man, his superiors still finding a use for the billionaire. There was also the man's suit. The Asset had been warned against direct engagement of the target, the man having undergone similar modifications that gave him above average abilities. There was also the uncertainty of his connection to SHIELD and Nike Fury so his team was on standby if SHIELD agents were to arrive. The second he had the shot, he had been ordered to take it.

The Asset let out another breath, heart a steady rhythm as he waited for the telltale light in the target's window.

He could feel every weapon on his person, plans already forming possible scenarios should his initial shot not provide the killing shot. It was only a couple meter gap between the apartments. He would need to time his jump perfectly to break and land in his targets room. From there he would finish him off and incapacitate Stark.

A light breeze picked up around the rooftops, blowing ragged hair across eyes more gray than blue, no life or light present. Only a cold, steely determination to complete his mission.

/

The Asset's position had been compromised the moment Tony entered the scene. Jarvis had detected his presence and alerted his boss. For his part, Tony gave no outward indication that anything was amiss, steering Steve into the apartment complex before briefing him on the situation.

"Who'd you manage to piss off, Cap? I mean, your Star-Spangled tights make me want to rip my eyes out but an assassin?" Tony whistled in awe, his sarcasm earning a glare from Steve.

Steve pushed pass him, heading up the stair to get his shield and confront his would-be assassin. Tony stopped his with a strong grip on his forearm, face still holding evidence of the battle no more than two weeks ago. The contusion on his forehead a stark reminder of what he almost sacrificed and how lucky they were to escape with the injuries they had.

"Whoever this guy is, Jarvis can't run facial recognition. He's heavily armed and he's been waiting for you."

Steve knew what Tony was trying to say.

"Give me two minutes."

That was all he'd need to get to his shield and get in position. Tony nodded, already making his way to the elevator to leave. He could feel the creeping sense of disaster, that everything was going to collapse around him again. Tony let out a shaky breath once the doors closed, bracing himself against the wall.

"Sir, I suggest you take a deep breath and relax. My sensors indicate an elevated heart rate and cortisol levels. If this plan of yours is to succeed, you must appear calm."

Tony knew that, just like he knew he wasn't getting better. But he wouldn't be Tony Stark if he wasn't able to bury his problems. Calming himself and taking the moment to activate his wrist beacons, he walked out the apartment doors, trusting Jarvis to update him of the surroundings as he waited for his suit to travel from his car.

The only warning Tony had was a 'Sir' before the chest plate was slamming into him as a slug tore through the circuitry, crippling the armor.

Though he wasn't hit directly, the energy from the shot, went straight to his chest, the pain dropping him to his knees briefly.

/

The Asset noticed the trap before it could be pulled off, eyes flickering to the departing person and from just reading the body language, could tell he had been compromised. He fired his loaded shot at Stark before blocking the attack from behind with his Barrett, right hand already reaching for his SIG.

"Who are you? Who do you work for?" Steve interrogated the would-be assassin.

His question was only met with the unloading of a magazine, all of which were blocked by his shield. He was barely able to get away from the knife when he lowered his shield. The fight continued as a stalemate with Steve wondering what was taking Tony so long.

Tony was on the ground, the sniper slug had missed him but had ripped through the main circuitry of his suit: his firepower was KO'd.

Steve was taken off guard at the speed of his attacker and found his throat encased in a cold metal grip. He wasn't there long; his feet coming up to slam into the assassin's solarplex. He used the soldier's momentum to toss him over his shoulder with little effort. There was a pause as both individuals regrouped; Steve grabbed his shield which he had dropped a few moments earlier. It was perfect timing as the metal arm/weapon struck just then, resulting in another deadlock between the two powers.

Steve was close to the edge of the roof so he chanced to look down for Tony. He couldn't see him with a quick glance, which was all he dared. This guy was something else, he had never fought someone like him before. He had yet to say a word and Steve wasn't holding back punches. It was all he could do to stay alive at the moment.

Cringing, he managed to dodge the knife but was unprepared for the second strike with his other hand. The punch buried into his skull, dazing him for a moment to allow the knife-wielding hand to come around again. He was slashed across his chest and the moment of shock allowed the Winter Soldier to pull his Glock from his back and fire. Steve dropped to the ground while lifting his shield. The pain was barely noticeable with the adrenaline pumping through him at the moment.

 _'I've gotta stop this guy,'_ was the only thought running through his chaotic mind.

Knowing that what he was about to do would've given Bucky a heart attack, Steve charged forward, his shield in front blocking the onslaught of bullets. All he needed was one good punch to knock him out. He got his punch in but he wasn't prepared for the discovery he made. The assassin looked up, nothing about his face changing, as his mask cracked and fell off.

"Bucky?!" he breathed in disbelief.

Steve was in turmoil. He would know Bucky anywhere and this was his friend but he didn't understand how. Or why.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" Why did that name sound familiar? It was the same name from earlier, from his…memories?

The question hurt but not as much as the moment of indecisiveness he saw flash across his eyes. It was gone in a heartbeat and Steve questioned if he even saw it. With this revelation, the fight quickly changed. Steve didn't want to fight his friend and the Winter Soldier had to complete his mission. Captain America remained on the defensive.

"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes; you're my best friend." He was trying appeal to anything that could be left of his friend. Moving into close combat to prevent any possible escape. He'd lost him once before, he wasn't about to make the same mistake.

"You're my mission!" Man, he really felt that punch. He could taste blood already from his split lip.

Before the Winter Soldier could do any more damage, a pulse blast knocked him over. Tony had gotten the repulsors on his hands working. "Okay there Cap?"

Steve ignored the billionaire, focusing his attention on his lost friend. Seeing that the mission couldn't be carried out, the soldier jumped off the roof with no hesitation.

"Hey-!" Tony was not expecting the man to jump but when the teammates rushed to the edge, they found no trace of the man.

Steve didn't know up from down, Tony from Howard, in that moment. The only thing rushing through his mind was that Bucky was alive and he had lost him again.

"I contacted Fury so mind telling me why you weren't fighting back?" Tony knew all about self-destructive habits but he never pegged Captain America as having one. "Hey, a thank you would be nice! If I hadn't gotten here when I did, you'd be dead!"

Steve heard nothing the billionaire said. Tony roughly grabbed his right shoulder to snap him out of it. "Hey."

"He didn't even recognize me. He looked right at me-," Tony wasn't sure what all Steve was mumbling about but he knew it was related the guy who was trying to kill him. He knew it was important when he saw the look in the veteran's eyes.

"Tell me who he was." It was a voice he rarely used, showcasing that he understood the gravity of the situation enough not to make jokes. There weren't many people he could know, having only been unfrozen for two months.

"It was Bucky."

There were really few things that could surprise Tony Stark. "Bucky Barnes of the Howling Commandos? The one who died in 1945?"

Steve flinched at the reminder of his death. He still blamed himself; if only he had been quicker, if only he had taken that Hydra agent out. The wound was still fresh; to him, Bucky had only been gone for six months.

"Sir, Agent Romanoff is on the line," Jarvis interrupted the rest of the conversation Tony wanted to have.

"Patch her through, J."

Natasha's voice echoed through his ear-piece, voice revealing nothing.

"Stark, Fury told me the details. Are you still engaged?" Clinical and down to business. Tony rolled his eyes, only partially disappointed that she couldn't see it.

"No, the guy got away. Why?"

"He just left?" Tony was confused at the surprised tone Romanoff took at that information but his brain was starting to piece together the parts of the puzzle he had.

"Ya, when I showed up and blasted him with my repulsors."

Natasha gained control of herself as she was once again calm and clinical in her next demand, "You and Rogers need to come in, there's some information you need to know."

Tony continued to eye Steve, noting how he remained in shock, face reflecting the same despair from minutes ago, "Um, yeah, I think we already have it. Bucky Barnes, Cap recognized him."

If that information shocked the spy, she didn't show as without missing a beat she replied that there was more to it.

At SHIELD, matters became much more complicated than either man could've originally believed. Tony already had JARVIS running a program to find any mention of James Barnes in recent years or on any mission report SHIELD had.

"I was hoping to have this settled before you had to be brought in on this Captain."

Steve stared at the Director. He wasn't really that fond of the man, not after he lied to him about the purpose of the Tesseract. So he knew he wasn't going to like this.

"As of two months ago, this case turned highly classified with as few people brought in as possible. Before that, you need some background." Classified took Tony's attention. He thought he had gotten all of SHIELD's dirty secrets when he hacked them before New York.

"After you went under, it was thought that all of HYDRA was destroyed. What we didn't know was that it still thrived, waiting for the right moment to strike." Nick's voice was somber, he knew what this meant for Steve. He had sacrificed himself for nothing. "SHIELD only became aware of HYDRA a few years ago due to a consultant of sorts who had a run-in with one of their agents. We have been conducting raids since then and two months ago we discovered their main headquarter here in DC."

"You mean to tell me HYDRA grew right under your nose?" Steve was trying to control his anger but everything he lost, everything he gave up? It was for nothing. The Terreract had been found and used and now HYDRA was still operating.

Tony studied the Director and Romanoff. "There was nothing in SHIELD's database concerning this."

"We can't trust anyone, we don't know who the mole is, if there is more than one. Everything was kept off the record to not alert them to how far we were digging."

"Sir, you can't keep them hidden from each other anymore. She's already pissed at you for the New York stunt." Natasha informed Nick. She knew Rynan better than anyone at SHIELD, this would not go over well with the woman.

"Fury pissing off people, that's not news."

The director let out a long sigh, standing, hands splayed out on his desk as he leaned forward.

"The person you ran into tonight, he's called the Winter Soldier. We've been chasing him since we discovered HYDRA. He's not the man you knew Rogers," Nick had to decide how mad he wanted to make Captain America. "He's been brainwashed by HYDRA for the past 70 years. His memories have been wiped of his previous life."

"You're telling me HYDRA has had Bucky since he-" He couldn't finish, the guilt flooded him. He left his friend to the hands of those monsters again. He remembered how Bucky was when he rescued him initially from Zola. He was never the same. To have spent the last 70 years under the same people…

"What the Director says is true but he's been fighting them. The consultant we mentioned, she encountered him, she got through to him. He's still in there." Natasha had to get in before Steve sunk into his guilt pool. She had seen it in his eyes, where his thoughts were going.

"And who is this consultant? I thought I was the only one."

"Her name is Rynan. You'll meet her in the morning. She has a unique connection with the Winter Soldier."

Tony was intrigued. There weren't many people who Fury trusted for information or help, this girl must've really impressed him. Jarvis already knew to run her name through SHIELD files. He wanted to know everything there was about this woman.

///


End file.
